The Unseen
by MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor
Summary: A hand gripped his shoulder, causing him to stop and peer back at the ocean blue eyes. A smile splayed on the innocent looking girls face and she said...
1. The New Student of Kamiya University

**The Unseen**

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the following quote. Both belong to their rightful owners.

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

~*~ Everyone makes mistakes. That's why there is an eraser on every pencil ~*~

-Japanese Proverb; Author Unknown

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

Chapter 1

The New Student of Kamiya University

The road to the University was narrow and rough as the young man drove through the downpour of rain. He peered at his watch. Only ten minutes remained before the registrations ended. I have to speed up my pace, he thought, swerving as a fork in the road presented itself through the cloak of rain. Over the horizon, a large central of buildings appeared, one of the three of the massive destinations bearing the name: **Kamiya University**.

He sighed in relief. He had finally made it here, and with time to spare.

Carefully, he turned toward the parking lot, finding an available decent parking spot next to a black Sadan and bringing his sleek Jimmy forward to the space beside it.

He switched the car off and stepped out, feeling the rain pound on his head the moment he exited. His shaking hands fumbled in his pants pocket for the keys. As he got grip of the fiesty things at last, he flipped it out, pressed a circular red button that locked the car, pressed a blue button that would set the car alarm, and pushed the keys back into the safe cover of his jeans.

And with that, he made his way hurriedly to the entrance of the university.

Upon entry, he slipped and slid down the foyer and crashed into a nearby coffee table with a bang. "Orooo..." he groaned aloud, eyes like pinwheels, lying with his legs sprawled out and mouth agape. Footsteps sounded closeby and quickly picked up speed toward his direction. The footsteps stopped and a closer look revealed an attractive young girl who seemed to be one of the college students.

Her eyes were blue, large ovals as she gaped at the sight of the clumsy young man. Her sleek black hair splayed down upon her shoulders.

And when she spoke, her voice sounded worried and frantic. "Hey! Are you alright?"

The boy shook his head fast, glancing up at the girl and staring, speechless. The girl hurriedly placed her books on an abandoned chair and she knelt down before him. Once again, she asked again. "Are you okay?" He was kicked from his daze, nodding at her question and finding his way back up. She stood up fast, backing up to give him space to move, blushing slightly but unnoticably.

"Um...I-err..." He looked away from her and gazed back at the now broken coffee table, split in two. His eyes widened in shock and he bent down and started trying to repair the broken mess. "I'm s-sorry for breaking this." He stumbled over his own words as he was working on fixing the table. "I...sort of slipped across the floor when I came in here. You see, I'm in kind of a rush to turn in my application for this university, that I am. And-"

A hand gripped his shoulder, causing him to stop and peer back at the ocean blue eyes. A smile splayed on the innocent looking girls face and she said, "No, its fine. The janitor can fix it. Come on and I'll bring you to the registration area."

She extended a helping hand, smile still playing on her lips, eyes sparkling with pure innocence.

Finally, he dropped what he was failing at repairing and took her hand in his, grateful of her kindness as she helped him to his feet and led him down the hall.

As they walked, he couldnt help staring at her. His eyes traveled. He noticed she was wearing a blue jean vest that came to her chest and beneath that wore a long, white dress that came five inches above her ankles, decorated toward the bottom with a cherry blossom design, and a pair of light blue shoes. He smiled at that. She dressed quite great for a college teacher.

He couldnt help but comment.

"I like what your wearing. It suits you quite well."

She halted in mid walk and he stopped a foot away from her when he relized she wasnt leading him. She was blushing perfusely, tighting her hold on her notebooks, pressing them close above her mouth. "T-thank you," she murmured, shifting her feet.

He smiled kindly at her, replying, "Your very welcome..."

He trailed off.

Her cheeks returned to their normal color as she blinked at him in confusion. "Is something wrong?" she asked, bringing her notebooks down to reveal a troubled frown.

"No!" he exclaimed quickly, alittle _too _quickly to make it sound convincing. Fortunate for him, she hadnt taken notice but her eyes widened in surprise at his sudden reply.

He shook his head and explained. "I was just wondering what your name was so I may thank you respectfully, sensei."

And to his dismay, she started_ laughing_. His eyebrows raised and he sweatdropped.

"Did I say something funny?"

"N-no," she breathed between laughs. "Its just-I cant believe you called me _sensei_."

Now he was utterly puzzled. He cocked his head to the side and scratched it. "Excuse me? But-am I not suppose to refere you respectfully by the approperiate term of _sensei_?" Her laughing faded and she smiled brightly and shut her eyes. "Baka, I'm not a teacher. I'm only a regular, every day college student like yourself."

He flushed with embarrassment and stared down at his feet, still scratching his head. "Oh-um, sorry about that! I assumed by the way you were dressed so nicely-" He shook himself mentally and forced a smile in her direction. "My apologies, miss. I only wanted to know your name, so that I may refer you by your name."

She dipped her head to show her understanding and smiled in return. "Well," she began. "If you want to know my name, its Kamiya Kaoru, but you can call me Kaoru for short."

He nodded and bowed._ Kamiya Kaoru..._

He would surely remember that name from now on. He returned the gesture and told him his name, seeing the glee that sparked in her eyes as she nodded and bowed to him. "Nice to meet you, Himura Kenshin."

Kenshin smiled and looked at his watch again. His eyes bugged from his head and stiffening. Kaoru arched a brow. He sure has pretty odd behavior, she was thinking, touching his arm lightly with a hand.

"You alright?"

"Oh no...theres only three minutes left till the registrations end! I have to hurry!"

Kenshin sped away, Kaoru staring after him but soon after running to him. "Wait up!" she called.

_End of Chapter :) _

_ Thanks for reading what I have so far of this continuing fanfic!_

_ Leave your opinions and reviews!_

_ Goodbye for now :)_

_ -MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor_


	2. A Tempting Offer

.

_**The Unseen**_

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the following quote. Both belong to their rightful owners.

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ l

~*~ "A flower falls, even if we love it; And a weed grows, even if we do not ~*~

love it" -Dogen: Japanese Buddhist

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ l

Chapter 2

A Tempting Offer

Kenshin arrived just in time to turn in his student application, and the fact that he had made it made him feel excited and relieved.

Now he started heading toward the entrance, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. It was still the morning hours and Kenshin was exhausted from todays events. All that lied on his mind was to go home and earn a well deserved nap in his bed.

_Even though the fact I live almost an hour away from the university, _he added. Kenshin stopped walking, halfway to the entrance, staring out at the hard falling rain. _Still, I cannot take risks and stay with another person while I attend college._

_Not after what happened to her._

_Not when I could have done something to prevent it..._

"Are you leaving already?"

The voice made him jump in surprise as he turned around to face the Kamiya girl again. Her eyes spoke for her, showing her disappointment. Kenshin managed to smile nonetheless, though his thoughts still drifted elsewhere.

"Yes," he replied happily, praying she would accept his simple answer and leave him alone, but only for the reason of just wanting to be alone with his thoughts for a while...and the fact he was still sleepy.

However, Kaoru was as smart as a whip, and she could spot anything wrong with a person just by looking at them. She stepped toward him, eyes clouding with sympathy. "And are you feeling alright? Your not sick or anything? Nothings wrong?"

Kenshin nodded, still keeping that cheerful smile.

"Yes, Miss Kamiya, Im quite well, that I am. And I assure you, Im as healthy as an...as an...erm..." Kenshin momentarily scratched his head, thinking. He shook it off and continued. "Well, anyway, just to get to my point, Im in perfect health and nothing is wrong."

But Kaoru knew he was holding back on her. He seemed like he was going to say more, but he only smiled one last time before opening the doors and entering the rain alone.

Kaoru's eyes turned to slits in deep thought as she watched Kenshin closely as he walked.

_Kenshin has something he's hiding, _Kaoru thought. _I mean, I know Ive just met this guy, but still! I can somehow _sense _that something isnt quite right about him. _

_And Im going to get to the bottom of it too, if its the last thing I do._

"Its raining, its pouring, the old man is snoring..."

Kenshin sung lowly to himself as he headed to his silver Jimmy. Sometimes it just seemed singing was his only company, and would possibly remain that way for the rest of his life. Nevertheless, half the time singing to himself was just a comforting universe away from worries and memories better left locked in the back of his mind.

Though he had to admit, his singing sucked.

Kenshin reached inside his pocket for his keys, getting drenched the longer he stood about, digging for them.

Suddenly, he felt a half dollar sized hole in his pocket. His eyes stretched in horror. Kenshin didnt feel his keys, nor had he heard them jingle even once during his time in the university.

The whole world seemed to stop. Everything stopped. For a second, Kenshin thought the world were frozen in time, until he slowly regained consciousness of his surroundings and became aware of the rain pounding the top of his head.

_Oh no...My keys. They couldnt have..._

To his astonishment, the feeling of the rain stopped.

_How is _this _possible? _Kenshin wondered, shocked to see the rain still falling but not feeling any of it pelting on himself. His gaze wondered up to the skies overhead, only to see a bright pink fabric blocking his view.

Kaoru came into his view, smiling at him and holding what turned out to be a pink umbrella he was seeing. He brought his eyes to rest on her, finding a small frown forming on his lips.

She was drenched to the bone, her vest and her once beautiful dress now sticking tightly to her skin like wax paper. Her shoes squished with each tiny shift of the feet. Kaoru had come all the way out here in the pouring rain just for his sake.

Kenshin didnt believe he deserved the Kamiya girls kindness. For a matter, as he saw it, he didnt deserve a living souls kind gestures toward himself.

Kenshin ducked away from both the umbrella an Kaoru's touch with a pang of guilt.

Kaoru lowered her reaching hand, staring at Kenshin with such hurt and confusion it made him want to look away, but he forced himself to look anyway.

"Please, Miss Kamiya," he murmured, relieved at last to turn his back on her. "I cant accept your kindness. Please forgive me if Ive cost you any trouble. I didnt mean to worry or concern you. Excuse me, as I will be on my way now. Goodbye."

Kenshin made a move for his car but stopped, remembering he was still keyless. Behind him, Kaoru gazed at him. And seeing him stop made her worry.

She daringly stepped forward.

"What is it?" Kaoru asked.

Kenshin bowed his head and sighed, beaming back at her as if all the problems in the world couldnt get him down. "Nothing...heheheh," he fake laughed, rubbing the back of his head and sweatdropping. "I just misplaced my keys, is all."

Kaoru was instantly taken aback, her eyes glinting with remembrance and digging into her vest pocket quickly. "Oh! If its your keys, then these must belong to _you_." She pulled out the missing relic, handing it over to him with a blush splaying across her cheeks, though Kenshin hardly knew why.

"Thank you very much, Miss Kamiya," he thanked, as happy as a child to get his keys back. Kaoru shrugged and her umbrella moved with her. "Oh, no problem. Well, drive safely."

He dipped his head. "That I will," he replied and hopped into his Jimmy and switched a silver key into the ignition. The car rumbled with life. Kenshin prepared to back out of the parking lot and drive off...

Kaoru stumbled to the passenger window he sat at, knocking on it frantically. Kenshin blinked and looked out the window, seeing Kaoru and nearly leaping out of his skin in fright. Fast as a jack rabbit, he shakily rolled down the window with a press of a button and was greeted by droplets of moisture; rain.

"Is there something you need to tell me, Miss Kamiya?" he asked, willing to listen to what she had to say.

Kaoru had her free arm wrapped about her chest, shivering, while her other arm was occupied holding the umbrella. She dipped her head slowly and said, "I dont know how far away you live from here..."

"I live about an hour away. Something the matter with that?"

"Oh...no. Theres nothing wrong with it, it's just I was wondering-well, if you arent busy tonight-if you'd like, you can stay in my dorm for the night and we can, you know, hang out?"

Kenshin paused. Usually, anyone who'd invite him to their homes/dorms he would decline the offer. Not this time. He was actually _considering _her offer, but he was thinking it over slowly. _Should I? _he questioned himself.

He was tempted to bang his head repeatidly against the steering wheel if it made his decision come faster.

_No...I can't. I promised myself not to get involved with people anymore. Besides, if I do, I risk becoming friends with her. And possibly...even MORE than friends. Yet if I refuse, what will she think? _

_Better yet, what will she DO?_

"...and I promise to give you all the space you need if its necessary and I'll leave the room if I have to..."

The whole time Kenshin was scrolling over his options, he didnt even notice Kaoru was speaking to him still. He'd thought she was done speaking and expecting an answer.

_But I guess she's persuading me to stay with her tonight. _

"...and if you need anything, I'll be more than happy to get it. You name it, and I will get it for you. Even if I have to go as far as the United States to get what you want, I'll do it! And if you dont like my cooking, we can order take-out. And..."

_She's STILL talking? My, can she talk for a long time! I havent even seen her take a single breath. She must do this twenty four/seven._

Kenshin gaped at her as she still went on and on and ON, counting on her fingers, lips still moving, keeping her eyes on him.

Hitting his head against the steering wheel now seemed to be a good choice right now, with no offense to Kaoru, of course. In the middle of her rambling, Kenshin caught her hand and she trailed off, staring oval eyed at him and starting to redden.

"U...u...u..." Kaoru stuttered but didnt go on.

Kenshin inwardly relaxed. He smiled. "If you still want my answer, I'll happily oblidge."

She nodded slowly, eyes getting wider and wider with anxiety as her grip on his hand grew harder, making him wince on the outside, but cry on the inside in pain.

He ignored the pulsating pain and shut his eyes, his bright expression replacing the thoughtful appearance he had. "I guess it wouldnt hurt to stay just tonight, if your still taking me up on your offer."

Kaoru gaped, eyes glittering like stars. Her grip on his hand relaxed.

"Y-you mean it?" she gasped, blinking with disbelief.

Kenshin nodded with a smile. "Indeed I do," he replied, eyes glazed.

Kaoru released his hand, to happy for her own good and unable to contain that happiness for much longer. "Uh-uh-okay!" Kaoru stammered, excitement coursing through her veins. Kenshin laughed inwardly at the sight of the Kamiya girl appearing so overjoyed.

_I may not be able to be her friend, _he thought as he waved her goodbye. She skipped meerily to the entrance of the university, almost as if she could pratically fly right about now with that umbrella. Kenshin stared in her direction for a long time with the sense of sadness watching her disappear inside the building.

_But...maybe a friend is just what I need right now. _

_Maybe all I ever wanted since the day she died was a shoulder to cry on and a friend to rely on._

_Or possibly, we may be better off like friendly neighbors, not friends nor enemies._

_ A/N And that is all for now :) I made this chapter a little bit lenghthier, so I hope you do not mind. And if you do mind, I am sorry. _

_ Well, I'll be updating soon! R&R id you want. Thanks for reading!_

_ And a special thanks to SRAS9 for your review to this fanfic! _

_ -MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor_


	3. Mistaken

.

_**The Unseen**_

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the following quote(and also I dont own any songs that may appear in this fanfic) Both belong to their rightful owners.

_MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor_

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

~*~ "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is ~*~

out of focus" -Mark Twain

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

Before I start the story, I just want to thank all of those who've read my fanfic and I want to specially thank SRAS9 for reviewing the story as well :) Heres my reply to your review, my friend.

SRAS9: Thanks :) I like what your perspective is on Kaoru. Im glad you like whats happening so far, as I do too ^_^ And dont worry, Im almost finished with chapter 3 as we speak so the story will be updated soon :) Thanks again for reading!

Now lets begin! Enjoy! Chapter 3

Mistaken

Kaoru rushed to her dorm. In a blink of an eye, she was inside her room. Only when she whirled around did she realize the shape the room was in. Piles of her roomates dirty laundry sat at the foot of the sofa. Cans of soda and stained glasses littered the floors. She flared with anger.

Her hands balled to fists and she bared her teeth. _Sanosuke...UGH!_

Faster than the speed of light, she whisked away into the small enclosed kitchen, returning to the main room with a plastic bag and a mask covered her mouth and nose, making only her firery eyes visible.

"Damn it, Sano! The least you can do is clean up the place before you leave the room!"

Kaoru knelt down, picking up the cans one by one, tossing them in the plastic bag with haste. After a couple minutes of going slow, she rapidly picked up the pace and instead scooped up the cans and glasses in arm-fulls, forcing them into the stretching bag. She didnt pay attention to _what_ she was throwing away. The only thing on her mind was to make the dorm look presentable for her 'guest of honor' tonight.

Kaoru got bouncy just thinking about the cute red head and, due to this, it actually aided her in tidying up the _entire _dorm room.

Top to bottom, the room was clean at last. Not a stain in sight, Kaoru thought, smirking at her success. She pulled down the mask and sniffed the air, smelling a fresh lemony scent reach her nose. Kaoru breathed it in for the longest time until she grew light-headed and dizzy.

She stumbled for the sofa, slumping down on the soft cushions. Kaoru was close to melting in relaxation. She'd done an exceptional job with the dorm room, and now was nodding off from exhaustion.

Her eyes were shutting. Kaoru allowed for it to happen, letting them close on their own, thinking she'd just awaken before noon. And soon enough, the young Kamiya girl was drifting into a wonderment of sleep.

Kenshin studied himself through his stand-up mirror, barely nodding his head when he liked what he saw of the clothes he wore.

It hardly took the effort to just slip on a clean white button-up shirt with a pair of long pants(which he made sure that there were of no holes in the pockets this time). He adjusted the collar of the shirt, but stopped himself abruptly, seeing a small square cloaked in the recesses of his shirt pocket.

He retrieved it from inside and had a closer look.

His eyes darkened and his brows furrowed. It was a small photo of himself with _her, _both of them holding eachother arm in arm, like high school lovers. In the picture, he saw the soft but bright smile he had as he sat on the park bench, arms wrapped around the young female seated beside him. The female, too, was smiling a gentle, sweet smile that made it so gut-wrenching just to look at and made Kenshin's eyes almost well with tears.

Her black hair mixed with his red hair, her eyes partly closed and his the same.

Kenshin ran his index and middle finger upon the frozen girl who would spend eternity in the never moving world. He touched her cheek with his fingers, remembering the feel of that cheek as he would warmly embrace her in a passionate kiss.

He lied it as carefully as if it were fragile upon the coffee table. It felt as though half his life force went away with it as he abandoned the photo there on the table.

_I have no time to remenance about the past, _Kenshin told himself firmly, scooping up his keys in hand and went toward the main door of his home. _What I should be thinking of now is of what food shall I bring as a token of my gratitude to that beautiful Kamiya girl..._

He halted, mouth slightly open at what he'd just ran through his head. _Did I...did I just call her _beautiful?

Kenshin shrugged it off as nothing and opened the front door, stepping out into the humid air outside, still holding in his mind the picture of his deceased lover.

Meanwhile, Kaoru's eyes flew open the moment a loud knock wrapped at the door. She shot out of the sofa and lunged for it, a strange feeling floating inside her chest as she fumbled to unlock it.

It opened with a squeak.

Her heart dropped as she saw the person standing at her door. Kaoru's shoulders sagged in disappointment as the face of the man of whom she was looking at was her messy roommate: Sagara Sanosuke.

"Oh...its _you." _She added every last ounce of spite into her last word, glaring at him through slitted eyes. Sanosuke smirked.

"And a nice helloright back atcha', missy. What's gotten into _you_?"

Kaoru leaned in the doorway with a heavy sigh. "Nothing," she mumbled, still drowsy from sleep.

Sanosuke pinned her with his brown eyes, his suspicious gaze making Kaoru squirm in discomfort. She slipped inside, eyes still on him as she almost shouted, "If your going to come in, COME IN ALREADY." Sanosuke dipped his head, brushing past her into the room. She shut the door with her back. It shut with a loud slam.

Kaoru was furious with him. _He made me clean up this ENTIRE ROOM! _The thought of it made her want to pound the living crap out of him. Although, she merely dismissed it as something to tell him of later. For now, Kaoru had important business to attend to. Most of all, she was determined to make sure Sanosuke wouldnt interfere. Even if it meant kicking him out of the room, if thats what it would take.

The following evening, Kenshin was stepping up the stairs of the building, a covered platter in hand and his tennis shoes thudding with each step he made. He hummed to himself a song he had heard on the radio the other day, smiling wide and eyes shut.

The song lyrics ran through his head.

_You make me act like a fool,_

_Forget how to breathe._

_Shine like gold,_

_Buzz like a bee._

_Just the thought of you can drive me wild..._

Suddenly, a new, fresh image flashed inside his mind. It was of the Kamiya girl. Kenshin was caught off guard by this, slipping on the hardwood floor and soaring down the halls.

"Ah-a-uh!" he yelped, trying to stop but with each attempt almost tripping himself up.

Coincidently, Kaoru was wandering down the same hallway Kenshin was sliding down, eyes shut and humming the same song she, too, had heard on the radio the other day while the lyrics spun in her mind.

"Ah-a-uh! Miss Ka-mi-ya-AH!"

Kaoru opened her eyes, blinking. _Did someone say my name?_

She took a quick glimpse behind and saw no one. She took a glance in front of herself-

Kaoru's eyes flashed in alarm. There was Kenshin, slipping and sliding down the hall like it were an ice rink. His feet flailed to and fro and he was holding something rather tightly in his clenched hands. Kenshin's eyes were gianormous with fright and he sweat in a never ending downpour.

"MISS KAMIYA, LOOK OUT!"

Kaoru held her hands out, catching him by his shirt collar. He skidded to a stop. She pulled him up, exhaling when it was done. "Whoo!" she sighed, laughing at how his collar had unfolded and was now covering his neck and the way his pants were now scooted down on his hips, revealing a small portion of his underwear. Kenshin held the platter in hand as he used his free hand to hike up his pants. As he hoisted his pants up to his waist, Kenshin was going to get his shirt collar next.

Kaoru's small, lotion scented hands looped through the openings in his bent arms and handled his collar for him. She folded it down, her eyes full of concentration as she did so. "There," she said, patting his shoulder and smiling. He smiled back. "Thank you," he told her. Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest. Her smile was affectionate as she replied, "No problem."

Moments past, the two distracted with smiling at eachother, letting their thoughts travel.

_Miss Kamiya is indeed a kind hearted person, _Kenshin observed with a thoughtful look crossing his face.

_I wonder what he thinks of me, _thought Kaoru, nervously rubbing her arm with her hand and averting her eyes from him. She gaped mentally. _Wait...why should I care what he thinks? He's only some average new guy showing up at the university. Its not like I should care...right?_

Kenshin furrowed his brows, studying her facial expressions with each passing thought in her mind. Now she was red as a cherry, her eyes diliberately hidden from sight by her overhanging bangs.

_I wonder what she's thinking right now. She sure seems embarrassed by _something_ crossing her mind right about now. Could she be thinking of me?_

Kenshin shook his head. _No, of course not. Why did I think that just now? My, something about being around her really messes with my head. _

At last, someone broke the silence, but it turned out not to be Kenshin nor Kaoru.

"Hey, missy, who ya talkin' to there?"

Kaoru tensed. _No! _She turned on her heels to face Kenshin. She touched his arm to grab his attention. Once his unusual violet eyes met with hers, she swallowed hard but murmured, "Um...could you stay here for me? It'll only be a second. I have to talk to someone."

Kenshin touched her hand. "Its fine by me, Miss Kamiya," he murmured back, eyes softening. "Take your time. I'll wait here for you, I promise."

_Why is he looking at me like that? And why is he touching my hand? _The mere sight of it was appauling, and making her blush in the process.

Kaoru didnt waste anymore time hanging about. She twirled on the heels of her shoes and made it to the tall man wearing a jet black jacket over a gray shirt with blue jeans and a red headband. He smirked at her but all he got in return was a punch to the arm. "Ow!" he winced, glaring at Kaoru. "Whatdya do that for?"

Kaoru pulled his head down to her level, eyes flaming with irritation. "Sano!" she hissed, checking over her shoulder to be sure Kenshin couldnt hear them. She faced Sanosuke soon after her quick glance back and went on. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sanosuke unwrapped her hand from his headband, smiling in amusement and straightening up. "I temporarily _live _here," he replied sarcastically. Kaoru smacked Sanosuke upside the head and he grunted. "Stop with the sarcasm crap, Im being s_erious _Sano! Just what the hell do you think your doing here? Cant you see I'm talking with someone?"

Sanosuke leaned to the side, glancing at the short red head standing yards away from them, admiring the Picasso painting on the opposite wall. He suppressed a laugh.

"Wait a sec, _thats _the guy you've been talking about? _He's _the one whose staying the night with us?"

Kaoru nodded. Then she placed her hands on her hips and scowled. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Sanosuke shut his eyes and shrugged nonchalantly, pressing against the wall beside a room door. A devious smile found its place on his face, replacing the joking smirk he usually wore. And his question sent her flying through the roof.

"No of course not. But I just wanna ask ya...is this guy, like, your boyfriend or something?"

"NO! OF COURSE HE'S NOT! KENSHIN'S JUST A NEW STUDENT AND THERES ABSOLUTELY _NOTHING _SPECIAL GOING ON BETWEEN US!"

Kaoru drew in a sharp breath, eyes like fire, staring darkly at Sanosuke. Behind her, Kenshin's head swiveled to face the stranger and the Kamiya girl, hearing his name. He stared a moment longer before suggesting he'd only imagined it and he got straight back to studying the paintings on the walls.

Sanosuke saw this, bending down to Kaoru's ear and whispering, "Well, hate to break it to ya, missy, but I think he just heard you." Kaoru's breath caught in her throat. _Oh no...this cannot be happening!_

She gave a sideways glance over her shoulder and saw Kenshin still looking at the paintings. The red head glanced back at Kaoru and waved cheerfully. Kaoru took her eyes off him instantly and distracted herself in tying her already tied shoes. Sanosuke knelt down in front of her and was smirking with a twinkle shining in his eyes.

"Oh, I see whats up. You two aren't dating, but you have a crush on him! That makes perfect sense!"

Kaoru's fist flew into his face. Sanosuke groaned in pain and fell backwards on the floor. Kaoru steamed. "Shut your face and take a nap!" she snapped, rising up and huffing at his immature outburst. _Honestly, just who does Sano think he is, saying things like that! I dont have any sort of attraction to the guy, let alone know him well enough to even _think _of liking him!_

_Though, I wonder if Kenshin's seeing anyone._

"And heres the bathroom in case you need to find it." Kaoru had given Kenshin a tour of her dorm, not hesitating to show him around. Kenshin would nod with intrest and take in each of the area's structures, intrigued yet satisfied of the conditions of the room. She led him back to the beginning, the main room. There, Kaoru invited him to take a seat on the sofa while she would prepare something to eat.

While Kenshin seated himself onto the sofa, Sanosuke plopped down next to him with a smirk on his face. "Whats up?" asked Sanosuke, sounding friendly.

Kenshin folded his hands together on his lap and smiled with shut eyes. "Oh, nothing in particular," he replied, then returned the question with a, "How about yourself?" Sanosuke bit on the pencil in his mouth and shrugged. "Eh, nothin' special."

After a prolonged silence, Sanosuke spoke up again.

"So...just how old _are _you?"

That type of question, Kenshin didnt have any trouble with answering. "I'm eighteen, that I am. I recently graduated high school not too long ago and decided to head straight to college." He didnt bother asking Sanosuke his age for the sake of Sanosuke's privacy and instead asked, "So, what is your name? Earlier today, I saw you talking with Miss Kamiya, and pure curiosity made me want to ask you."

And at that moment, Sanosuke's eyes glinted with intrest. _Hmm...I wonder what this guy means by 'pure curiosity made me want to ask you'? _

"Sagara Sanosuke," he replied after a pause to revolve about the question for a second or two. "But you can just call me Sano like everyone else."

Kenshin dipped his head and offered a soft smile. "Thats fine with me," said Kenshin.

Sanosuke didnt pay any mind to this. He only focused on Kenshin's expressions to read what the red head was thinking. Nevertheless, Kenshin didnt let any of his thoughts be shown by his expression the entire time until Kaoru showing up in the room caught him off guard and made his eyebrows raise.

"Dinners about ready," she announced, squeezing in between Sanosuke and Kenshin. Sanosuke scrunched his nose in disgust. "Your making dinner?" Kaoru nodded proudly. "Yep, and its almost done!"

Sanosuke got up and went for the door. "Thanks," he grumbled. "But I think I'll take a rain check on that offer, Kaoru..."

Kaoru shot up and stalked to him, dragging him back to the sofa with a firm hold. "Its not an offer, Sano. Its more like a demand." She pushed him onto the sofa and growled, "And your not skipping out on it, either." Sanosuke sweatdropped, throwing his hands in front of himself in defense, waving them frantically up and down.

"Whoa, _whoa,_ little missy! T-theres no need to get like that."

Kaoru's lips formed into a grin. Just then, the sound of smoke alarms rang at an ear-busting rate throughout the room. Her eyes widened in dismay. "Oh no! I forgot I still have that turkey in the oven!" she shrieked, whisking away into the small kitchen and opening the oven. Kaoru was greeted by a cloud of black smoke, and she spluttered a cough as it faded.

Kenshin stood up on a wooden stool tall enough for him to reach the smoke alarm attached to the roof. He had to stand on the tips of his toes, the stool being only an inch too short. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth in his concentration mode. Finally, he managed to turn it off with a push of the flashing red button. Kenshin sighed with relief.

He was readying himself to scoot the stool to the opposite side of the kitchen to get the second smoke alarm, but Sanosuke beat him to it without even needing the assitance of a stool. Kenshin pouted at this.

Kaoru brought out the shriveled, dry black coal-like turkey. She frowned at its form and teared up. "Its ruined," she sniffed, holding back her tears as much as she was able.

Kenshin moved to her in the efforts to comfort her.

"It's okay, missy."

Once again, Sanosuke beat him straight to it and had a hand placed upon Kaoru's shoulder to assure her that it was, indeed, okay. Kenshin's eye twitched.

Kaoru peered back at Sanosuke, sniffling and eyes glazed with held back wet tears. "Y-you really...t-t-think so?"

He nodded, eyes half shut and his smile gentle looking and sympathetic as can be. Kenshin restrained himself from getting involved and causing a scene.

Kaoru wiped away a single tear that escaped out of the corner of her eye and sniffed again, smile quivering. "Thank you, Sano. You always have a way with words." Sanosuke turned her to face him, eyes beginning to burn with affection. "Anything for you, missy. After all, what are boyfriends for?"

"Oh Sano! I love you!" Kaoru yelped with joy, embracing him in a warm, loving hug.

Sanosuke hugged her back with the same warmth and love that she had and they looked eachother in the eye, leaning forward, close enough to where their lips could touch...

"Stop this nonesense, _now!"_

"Huh?"

Kaoru and Sanosuke stared in unison at the red head, Kaoru having a handfull of Sanosuke's shirt clenched in her fist as she was originally beating him with her wooden spoon. Sanosuke rubbed the lumps forming on his head, wincing as it stung to touch it. Kenshin sweatdropped.

"Uh..." He trailed off. _I was just imagining that the whole time? _

_None of it was _actually _happening?_

"...shin...? Kenshin?"

Kaoru poked Kenshin lightly in the shoulder with her wooden spoon. She got no response from the gaping, dazed red head. Sanosuke rose behind her and gazed at Kenshin with an arched brow. "Is he even alive?" said Sanosuke, watching as a fly zooped onto Kenshin's cheek and crawled along his frozen face.

She shot him a sarcastic sneer. "No, Sano, he died standing up. Stop asking baka questions like that and help me get him to the sofa!"

He sighed and reluctantly did as he was told, getting up behind the petrified boy and lacing his arms beneath Kenshin's. Kaoru crouched down and grabbed Kenshin's feet, looking back up at Sanosuke with serious eyes. "On the count of three," she told him. Sanosuke braced himself.

"Ready? One...two...three!"

Kaoru heaved a heavy grunt and hoisted Kenshin's feet up fast. Sanosuke's legs buckled under the red head's weight and he groaned as he tried bringing Kenshin upright. "Damn!" he grumbled, sweating. "Why is he so darn heavy?"

Kaoru flared. "Stop complaining and move!"

He carefully placed each foot one step back at a time, nervous and swallowing hard with each step. Kaoru held up Kenshin's feet, her eyes focused on his face. _What happened to make you like this? _she wondered, worried enough about him already without having to deal with this sort of problem. _Could it be that he's sick?_

While in Kenshin's mind, his thoughts revolved around a different matter.

_I could've sworn it was real! What is WRONG with me?_

_ And that brings us to the end of _

_ chapter 3 :)_

_ Thanks for reading! I hope you_

_enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it!_

_ R&R and have a great day _

_See you later!_

_ -MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor_


	4. Paranoia and a Late Night Visitor

_**The Unseen**_

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the following quote(and also I dont own any songs that may appear in this fanfic) Both belong to their rightful owners.

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

_"To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another."_

**~Katherine Paterson**

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

Thank you SRAS9 for your reviews and favoriting my fanfic. And thank you AVAgrl for putting my fanfic on your story alert :)

Now, on with the story!

Chapter 4

Paranoia and a Late Night Visitor

"Here, drink some of this."

In her cupped hands, Kaoru held a freshly brewed mug of coffee, offering it to the awakening Kenshin. He mumbled a, "Thank you," taking the mug from her carefully and pressing the brim to his parted lips. His brows lowered in thought, trying to revive the memory of what happened earlier that day that was making him feel..._down? Deppressed? _Kenshin couldn't quite decide from between the two.

Out of pure honesty, though, he couldn't remember what had happened that made him black out. _But it must not have been anything important, otherwise it'd have come to me by now._

Kaoru kept her distance from him, sitting a wide space apart from him on the sofa. She kept her eyes on him, observing his movements and expression changes, studying the seriousness of his half opened eyes and small parted frown.

Her heart skipped a beat when Kenshin spotted her from the corner of his eye. _Does he sense me staring at him? _Kaoru thought.

He bent over and placed the mug on the coffee table, facing Kaoru with calmer eyes. His frown was replaced by a half smile. "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Kamiya," Kenshin half whispered, half murmured.

Kaoru nodded slowly, feeling heat in her cheeks getting hotter and hotter the more she lost herself in those sweet, violet eyes. _Come on, Kaoru! _she yelled sternly at herself. _Your better than this! Don't be swayed by his kindness. Remember that he's just like every other guy and there's nothing special about him whatsoever._

She began getting serious at the thought of this. Kaoru desperately needed to get her head out of the clouds and face reality head on. A new student never had her feeling so overwhelmed and worked up over anything before. So why _now_?

It was rather peculiar subject to be worrying over. However, she just couldn't help it.

"Kaoru? Did you hear me?" She was brought back to the real world immediatly after Kenshin's voice rang in her ears. Kaoru sweatdropped and apologized in advance. "I'm really sorry Kenshin. My mind was wondering for a while so I didn't hear what you said. I'm really _really _sorry!"

Kenshin put his hand on her shoulder. She melted like molten lava under his touch. "No, no, it's alright Miss Kamiya," he assured her, chuckling under his breath at her sudden fretting. "There's no need to apologize. I honestly don't mind if you had some thoughts running about in your mind. It usually happens to me as well, that it does. And if you want, I can repeat myself and fill you in on what I was saying. However, it's only if you want me to."

_He _really _is _nice. _And he's so easy to talk to compared to other guys._

Kaoru gulped and met her eyes with his. "O-okay," she stammered nervously, hoping he didn't notice her nervousness.

Kenshin dismissed it, dropping his hand back to his lap and his half smile turning to a full smile. "Very well then," he replied. "Well, as I was saying, I've been wanting to ask you if you had something planned for tonight for us to do?"

_Though thats not what I _really _want to know. I want to know the reason I feel so strange around you. An explanation why all these unusual feelings are all the sudden making themselves known inside of myself. _

Though, maybe those were questions better left unanswered...for at least the time being.

He focused on the present now, seeing the Kamiya girl instantly get startled by the question and stiffen. "Uh...n-no..." Kaoru replied shakily. _I knew I was forgetting about something! I'm such an idiot! Baka, baka, _BAKA_! _The name calling kept repeating itself in her mind. She mercilicly beat herself up over nothing, literally.

Kenshin's eyes were round. Kaoru was using her fists to pound her head hard enough to leave bumps and tears coming from the corners of her shut eyes. Quickly, he grabbed hold of her flying fists and stopped the chaotic acts in the nick-of-time before she slammed them into her skull. "M-Miss Kamiya, this one wants you to stop this nonesense now, _that I do_!" His voiced strained toward the end of his request; Kenshin was afraid Kaoru would beat the crap out of him for saying that, but she only sat, eyes transfixed with his.

His heart stopped beating for a moment. He gazed into those blue eyes, almost in a hypnotic state of mind. A clear image of a girl, as he saw through his mind's eye, appeared, her scarlet eyes fixed on him, emotionless. She stood motionless like stone, only her long black hair swaying with an invisible breeze.

_"Don't forget who you promised your heart to, Kenshin," _said the women coldly, eyes like sharp daggers, making his heart lurch.

Kenshin doubled over in reality, gasping for air, pupils shrinking, hands still holding onto Kaoru's. Kaoru gasped in horror, only able to look on as he cried out and his hold on her hands tightened hard enough to turn them white.

"Kenshin!" she wailed. She tugged her hands free and shook him hastily. "Kenshin, snap out of it! _Kenshin!"_

As if on cue, Kenshin eyes transformed to their normal state, able to breathe at last and casted his eyes to the shaken up Kamiya girl. His eyes broadened at this and he frowned slightly in concern.

"Miss Kamiya..." he murmured lowly.

Kaoru brushed it off her scared feelings at once and smiled at him like nothing was bothering her. "I'm alright, Kenshin," she finally stated calmly at last. "Really, I am. It's just I got beside myself when I saw you doubled over and everything. It's no big deal."

All the same, Kenshin could see past that white lie, and so, didn't bother saying it aloud, smiling back at her and saying, "Alright then. If your honestly sure about that, then this one won't dwell on it." He got up and turned around to face her, eyes lighting up.

"How about we rent out a movie, Miss Kamiya?"

Later that night, Kenshin and Kaoru were walking back from The Redbox located outside of campus at Walmart. Kaoru was holding the three, almost paper thin, small square dvd cases which contained the movies they planned to watch tonight. Although, Kenshin wasn't looking forward to it, and secretly, neither was Kaoru.

He wanted to rent out a nice little movie that would hopefully succeed in getting his mind off of the terrifying vision he had earlier. But Kaoru suggested getting three different horror movies instead, insisting that if it was going to be a movie night, they might as well enjoy it with some R rated horror movies.

Kaoru was now rethinking over what she was pulling herself and poor old Kenshin into, gripping the cases tight in her hands. _I should've thought this through! I HATE horror movies!_

And meanwhile, Kenshin was sharing the same feelings of anxiouty. _Maybe I shouldn't have come to stay the night afterall..._

"Kenshin?"

"Oro?"

"Are you..._excited _about movie night tonight?"

Kenshin nodded fast, faking a grin. "Aha, aha. This one sure is, that I am! And...how about yourself?"

Kaoru answered with a vigorous nod, eyes changing to large chibi eyes streaming with tears. "Y-yeah! Of course I am! Yeah..." In a low, high pitched whimper, she added, "I'm_ so _screwed!"

At last, they arrived at Kaoru's dorm. Kaoru dug into her grayish-blue jacket pocket with a trembling hand, stretching her fingers out to grasp the key wedged into the deep recesses of her pocket. She unlocked the door and the moment she did, the key flipped out of her hands and hit the floor without barely a sound. Kaoru stood frozen, blushing, as Kenshin leaned down and picked it up without any troubles at all and handing it over to her with a curt nod. She took the key and jammed it into her pocket while Kenshin pushed the door open.

Minutes later, Kaoru prepared some steamy popcorn with butter glazed all over it and sat at Kenshin's side with it in hand. She reached for the dvd remote and made the dvd slide into the silver DVD Player. Once that was done, she threw it aside onto an abandoned beanbag chair and pressed back against the sofa with a shaky sigh. _This will give me nightmares for months, _Kaoru thought dreadfully. _But it's totally worth it to hang out with Kenshin..._

_WAIT, hold the phone! _Why _is it that its worth it? _Kaoru shrugged it off as nothing to worry over. The fact was, she was less nervous to have someone watching this movie with her, especially the known fact that boys hardly get scared over horror movies, and half the time, not even get scared at all.

The movie began.

Kenshin watched as a slim, beautiful woman entered the scene, taking out the hairband from her glistening blonde hair, grabbing a brush and going through it while staring through a mirror. She took a momentary pause, to which she sat the brush onto the bathroom sink and turned her back to the mirror, adjusting her hairband back into her hair. As she did so, she seemed unaware of the figure of a broad man standing in the mirror, his features shadowed except for the black suit he wore; he had no eyes.

Kenshin stiffened as the woman turned back and let out a horrific cry only to have it cut off in mid scream and an eerie silence to take over. The camera panned down toward the tiled bathroom floor, which was now stained with scarlet blood. As the camera screen moved along, it stopped at the womans feet and stayed put. Then, the scene faded to black.

The whole time, Kaoru sat in frozen horror next to the red head. Neither spoke a single word throughout the entire movie. When the movie marathon finally reached its end, Kenshin was the first to speak up. "Heheh...those were all quite intresting movies, Miss Kamiya..." Kaoru shifted uncomfortably. She stared down at her feet, her hands shaking like mad. "Um...yeah..." she replied. Kenshin threw his head in the opposite direction Kaoru sat, twidling his thumbs nervously. _Those movies will surely give this one nightmares, that it will. _

He glanced sideways at Kaoru, not helping the urge to see how the young girl handled the horror fest.

Kaoru noticed Kenshin staring at her. She thought fast and acted as though nothing bothered her, waving while sweatdropping. He sweatdropped in return, directing his eyes forward and heaving a sigh. _She seems very much unfazed by it. Miss Kamiya seems to be quite the brave one compared to me. _

_Kenshin's the bravest one here in my opinion, _Kaoru thought, looking toward her dark bedroom. She swallowed hard when she could've sworn she caught the tiniest glimpse of movement. _What really makes me wonder is why on earth I didn't tell him I'm terrified of scary movies! They always frighten the crap 'outta me! Ugh, I'm such an idiot._

She clapped her hands together.

"Oro?" Kenshin jumped at the sudden burst of sound, turning in Kaoru's direction. She smiled, hands trembling. "Heheh...well then, now that I have your attention, I think we should probably be getting prepared for bed." His eye twitched, but nonetheless he nodded his agreement. When Kaoru took leave of the room and left Kenshin alone, he made a move toward his backpack and pulled out what he'd be wearing that night: a plain white tank top with black and red plad boxers. And to be on the safe side, he also brought out his sakabatou he recieved as a gift from his father years ago. _Better to be safe than sorry, t-that it is, _he told himself, but feeling even if he had the sword, it would give little protection if anything were to pop out of nowhere during the dreadful night ahead.

Once he was changed into his night clothing, Kaoru strolled out of her bedroom wearing a long silky white nightgown with her hair down. She couldn't help but notice what the red head wore, and instantly the picture was planted into her mind. She shook herself begrudgidly. _Uh, would you knock it off! I admit, he does look...kind of attractive in a tank top and boxers, but it's not like you haven't seen a guy dress like that before. _She forced the image out of her head immediatly, and gained back control over her thoughts. "So, um...you can sleep on the extra bed in mine and Sanosuke's room...if you'd like."

Kenshin smiled.

"Thank you, Miss Kamiya," he said. She blushed alittle. "Well...I - uh guess I'll see you in the morning, Kenshin."

The pitch black of night fell upon the dorm. The only source of light came from a small nigthlight plugged into an outlit between Kaoru's bed and Kenshin's. He gripped his sakabatou in his hands tight till his fingers turned white. Whether scary movies were fictional or real, he wasn't taking any chances tonight. And he wasn't the only one lying awake.

Kaoru held a bat securely to her chest as she lied on her side, facing away from Kenshin. Her palms grew sweaty from holding the object in her hands for so long, but that seemed to be the least of worries on her mind. _What if that killer breaks into the dorm and kills us both?_

Just the mere thought of it sent chills down the length of her spine. Kaoru shook herself vigorously. _No, _NO! _Don't start thinking about that! Great, now I'll never be able to fall asleep tonight..._

A knock at the door sounded loudly, making Kaoru yelp and Kenshin grow wide eyed. "Oro!" They both shot straight up in bed, sweating and trembling. Peering through the darkness, raising her trusty bat, Kaoru gathered up the nerve to call into the shadows. "K-Kenshin? I-is that y-you?" It took him long moments to respond, fear clutching at him like crazy. "Y-yes...?"

Kaoru lowered her bat.

The dark room grew silent. That is, until the knocking grew louder, each bang on the door making the two cringe in unison. Outside, a tall lanky figure banged on the door, eyebrow twitching when no one bothered to open it. _Damn, I'm such a baka for forgetting to bring the dormroom key with me when I headed out! And to make matters worse, Kaoru isn't answering the door!_

A young girl stood behind, peeking out from where she stood, curiousity in her eyes. She wore a white tank top and camo capris, and has long light blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail with big light blue eyes. "Is that Kaoru girl not here, Sano?" she questioned, glancing up at the man with even more curiousity dwelling within her. He sighed and pushed both hands in his pockets. "Damn.." he muttered, not paying much attention to the sixteen year old's question. Sano turned to her and said, "No, Chii-chan, I'm pretty sure she's here. Probably snoozing away in bed by now." "Hmm..."

The knocking ceased to an eerie silence.

Voices on the other side of the door were heard by Kenshin and Kaoru as they tip-toed out of bed and toward the entrance. Both Kaoru and Kenshin pressed their backs straight against either side of the doorway, their weapons raised high over their heads(Kenshin sakabatou sheathed). With a brisk nod from Kaoru, the red head cautiously twisted the knob and held the door ajar.

Sano bent down on the ground, digging out what he was looking for hidden beneath the mat. "Luckily for us, the missy keeps the spare key tucked under the doormat," Sano remarked with a smirk. However, just as he rose to his feet to unlock the door, it suddenly creaked ajar. His eyebrows raised in surprise. The girl gaped. "Cool! Why didn't you tell me your dorm room was haunted, Onii-chan?" Sano's eyes turned to slits. "It's not haunted," he told her, seeing the excitement shining in her eyes. "Kaoru probably left the window open or something. Come on. We might as well head inside." He pushed it open further, stepping in.

"On the count of three, we'll bash the killer over the head," ordered Kaoru in a hushed whisper. The red head nodded, preparing his sheathed sakabatou to deliver the blow. The door began to open. "One...two..." A tall shadowy figure stepped into the room, his features masked by the darkness. _"Three!" _Together, Kaoru and Kenshin brought down their weapons upon the person's head, hearing it grunt. "OW!" Kaoru's head poked through the doorway. "Did we get it?" she asked, still clenching the bat in her hands. Kenshin shrugged, slinking over to the opposite wall and flipped the lightswitch up. Light filled the entire dorm within heartbeats. Kenshin's eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw who it was doubled over in pain, grasping his spikey head between his hands. "S-Sano?"

Kaoru saw the enraged look Sano had on his face and dropped the bat to the floor. "Oh...it's you, Sano." She tried playing a clueless innocent act, but the man wasn't falling for it. "You baka's!" he growled, staring them both with dagger-like eyes. "Just what the hell do you two think your doing?"

"Well, uh...you see..."

Kenshin trailed off in mid sentence, seeing a young teen standing behind Sano, her eyes large when she saw him. "Who are you?" she asked, stepping into the dorm room to get a better look at him. Kenshin smiled. "This one is Kenshin Himura, that I am," he replied happily. She circled him, examining him with her eyes before returning to stand in front of him. A smile splayed on her face, and she lunged forward and yelled, "Onii-chan!" "O-oro?"

The impact of the hug sent the poor red head flying onto the floor. The girl was cuddling him with a pleased smile. "Oh yeah, guys, this is Heather Aya Chiizuki. She's a new student enrolling into Kamiya University." Heather bounced off Kenshin and squealed in utter delight, her eyes shining like twinkling stars. "Yep, that's me alright!" she exclaimed proudly. "You can just call me Chii-chan, though. It's nice to meet all of you!" She stared in Kaoru's direction and smiled. "You must be the Kamiya girl, right?" Kaoru smiled back. "Your right. My name is Kaoru Kamiya."

Heather extended a hand. Kaoru shook it. "Nice to meet you, Nee-chan!" the girl chirped. Heather then proceeded to turn toward Sano. "Are you okay, Onii-chan?" Sano dipped his head in reply. Two large bumps were visible beneath his spiked hair. Kenshin and Kaoru apologized imensly for it. Kenshin turned to Heather, who was tending to Sano's injury hurriedly. "Um...excuse me, but if I may ask, why are you calling us your brothers and sister?" For long moments, silence hung between the four. Instantly, the happiness left Heather's eyes and clouded with sadness. She rubbed her hands together and stared at her feet. "Well...um..." She shifted uncomfortably. "I...don't really like talking about it."

Kenshin dipped his head, smiling sympathetically. "I understand," he reassured her. He didn't want to push the girl on the subject. He wasn't really one to persist people about things that may be touchy for them to talk of. Instead, he changed the subject.

"So, how about I go fetch some Neosporine for those bumps?" Kenshin made to leave but stopped. Sweatdropping, he swiveled his head around. "Heheh...Miss Kamiya? Where do you keep the medications?"

_And that brings us to the conclusion of Chapter four :)_

_A thousand apologies for being so late on updating! This one has just started up school again so its been rather busy for me to try and update ^^; _

_Rest assure, though, that I will do my best to get chapter 5 up when I'm able! So don't worry, the story is still being updated, it might just take a little while for a new chapter to be up ^^''_

_Special thanks to SRAS9 and XAshKittyX for taking the time to review my story! :D I very much appreciate it, indeed I do ^_^ _

_Thank you for reading! Please R&R and have a pleasant day my friends! _

_-MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor_


	5. Settling In

_**The Unseen**_

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the following quote(and also I dont own any songs that may appear in this fanfic) Both belong to their rightful owners.

_**Thank you for the reviews!**_

_**AVAgrl: Thank you very much for your review ^_^ I do agree that some parts of chapter 4 couldve been a tad bit better. I hope this chapter makes up for that nonetheless! Thank you for reading! :D**_

_**Now, on with chapter 5! :)**_

Chapter 5

Settling In

The small statured red head crossed the halls as students hurriedly filed past. The events from the night before still hung freshly in the his mind as he dragged behind his suitcase. However, he didn't allow for it to boggle his thoughts anymore because it was only making it more complex to search for his assigned dorm. Earlier that morning, Kenshin had made a quick trip over to the front desk. A nice lady standing behind the desk caught sight of him and smiled as she sorted through a yellow folder, bringing out his schedule for classes and his dorm room key. She handed it over to him with no questions asked and Kenshin thanked her thousands of times before finally leaving her at peace.

Now all he had to do was find his dorm room.

Kenshin passed door by door, marked by golden letters and numbers.

98...

99...

100...

He stopped at a door marked 'Room 101'. Nonchalantly, Kenshin glimsped down at the flat rectangular pouch his key was held in. On it, scribbled in blue pen, was 'Room 101'. He smiled. At last, he had found his room.

Kenshin pushed the key into the keyhole and twisted till it clicked. Before he even had a chance to open the door, it flew open fast and a familiar face beamed brightly in the doorway. He gaped. "M-Miss Chii-chan?"

"_Onii-chan!"_

Immediatly, the young female barreled into the red head, making him revert to swirly eyed mode from state of surprise. "Oroooo..." He fell backwards, taking Heather with him. She pushed herself up so she hovered above him, eyes huge with excitement and a wide grin on her face. "I'm so happy to see you again, Onii-chan," she said. Kenshin just stared at her, blinking. "Oro. This one is happy to see you too, that I am." He squirmed out from beneath her and breathed a heavy sigh as his eyes landed on where his suitcase now was. His suitcase was being kicked down the hall by the fast moving feet of students. The further it flew down the hall, the more aggrivated Kenshin was growing. _My first day of college and I've already lost my suitcase. That's just perfect. _

He shifted his violet eyes onto the blonde, not wanting to waste time standing idle while his bag was pratically flying further away. Quickly, he told her, "Listen, I have to go. My suitcase is being kicked down the hall as we speak, and I'm already dreading the condition of it as it is..."

However, all that remained of Heather was a dust cloud. Kenshin blinked. "Oro?" He whiped his head around to see the teen racing down the hall, pushing and shoving her way past the crowd of students. He lost sight of her as she leaped into the swarm of the horde of students but quickly saw her again when she dragged herself out like she was stuck in quicksand. Heather hopped to her feet, straightening her hair sticking in several directions and brushing off her clothes. Clutched in her hand, Heather had gained possesion of the suitcase.

"Here you go." She gave Kenshin the suitcase with a smile. He was so overjoyed, he felt like lunging at her to give her the biggest hug he'd ever given anyone. He restrained himself from doing so, nonetheless, and tucked the bag safely by his side. "Thank you, Miss Chii-chan," he bowed. Heather blew a puff of air. "It wasn't a problem at all, Onii-chan," she replied.

She reached for his forest green jacket sleeve and held it strongly in hand. Then, she proceeded to march Kenshin down the hall. "Whoo! Boy, that was quite a rush! But now you have to get situated in your new room. I'll help you unpack if you'd like?"

Kenshin laughed sheepishly, small beads of sweat becoming visible on his head. "Thank you, Miss Chii-chan, for the offer, but I think this one can unpack his own belongings, that I do." Heather simply shut her eyes and chirped a, " 'Kay!" and continued to parade along the hallway until they reached their destination at last. Once there, Heather took the liberty of opening the door for Kenshin...and also 'assisting' him inside. The red head went soaring through the doorway and landing upside down on a soft brown couch in the process. His eyes were spinning swirls and his jaw was slacked wide. "Oroooo..."

Heather hopped inside not too long after, shutting the door with a slam. Kenshin winced. Her hands clasped, a smile on her face, blue eyes sparkling, Heather made her announcement. "Welcome to your new room, Onii-chan! It may not be the biggest, but it sure it the best if you just give it a chance. As you've probably guessed, this is the living room." She made a wide arm motion to indicate the room they were in now. Kenshin gave a curt nod. "Over there's the kitchen-" She pointed a finger to a large doorway, leading into a white room dazzling with cleanliness. Her finger swept to another doorway, in which a brown door was shut, not revealing anything within the room. "That's our bedroom. And over there is the bathroom..." Heather's index finger landed on a slightly opened white door, a light streaming out from the opened crack and revealing the dust particals moving slowly through the air.

She put her arms behind her back and smirked. "That's all the rooms in our dorm!" finished Heather with a bow. Kenshin couldn't help a smile that was creeping onto his face. "My, you surely know the place well for being a new student," he said. She beamed. "It's no big deal really...Sano gave me a little tour last night of my dorm when I first arrived and showed me around the college campus, too."

"That was nice of him to do."

"Yeah, Onii-chan was super nice to me when I showed up. He's the best!"

Kenshin chuckled then grabbed his bag off the floor. "This one should start unpacking," he told her. "That I should." Heather nodded in agreement. "Okie dokie." Smiling, he went into the bedroom, sat on his bed, and started unzipping his suitcase. Heather followed him in. He took out all the everyday stuff he had in it, such as clothes, socks, an extra pair of shoes. He placed the heap of things to the side. Kenshin would sort through it all later.

Directing his attention back to the suitcase, Kenshin realized with a jolt that he had unknowingly packed the photo of him and _her. _Instantly, his eyes were locked with her affectionate filled brown eyes. His surroundings and Heather became nonexistant. All around him...hung nothing but darkness.

_Kenshin..._

The whisper spoke his name. He trembled.

_Kenshin..._

It breathed into his ear, warmly but filled with venom.

_Kenshin!_

"Kenshin!"

Kenshin's eyes shot open, panting. He was back in the bedroom once more, but even knowing this fact made him that much more nervous. A pair of big blue manga-like eyes stared him in the face. He knew they belonged to Heather. She leaned back to give him space without saying a word, but her eyes held her unspoken questions all alone. Sighing, she said, "I was asking you who that girl is in the picure, and then you just blacked out on me. Is everything alright?"

He nodded slowly in reply. Nevertheless, the truth lied deep within himself. And Kenshin vowed he wouldn't share anything about his past with anyone. . . whether they be friends or aquaintances.

"She's an old friend of mine...she passed away a few years ago. I don't like going into detail, let alone explaining. All I can say is...is that I hope she's in a better place now." Kenshin looked to see Heather's reaction to his answer and saw that her eyes had darkened like storm clouds. She stared at her hands, balling them into her lap. "I'm sorry to hear that, Onii-chan," she replied quietly. "I probably shouldn't have brought it up..."

He reached out and lied a comforting hand on her shoulder. "No," he said. "It's fine. You were only curious, and I understand that. It is no trouble at all, that it isn't." Heather met his eyes once more, and he saw them begin to light up again. "Are you sure?" Kenshin smiled. "As sure as I've ever been."

"Yay!" Heather threw her hands in the air and waved them about like an inflatable wavy arm balloon. Kenshin sweatdropped but laughed nonetheless. She skidded to a stop and hit her fist into her palm as a thought struck her. "Oh yeah! I almsot forgot...!"

"Oro? Forgot what, if I may ask?"

Heather hopped over to the foot of her bed. She then proceeded to open a large sky blue trunk then dig through it till she yanked out a camoflauge green bag. Confused, Kenshin sat the photo face down on the navy blue comforter and asked what she had in the bag. "You'll see..." Heather had her tongue sticking out the side of her lower lip in deep concentration as she shuffled her hand through its' contents. Finally, in her clenched hand, she had ten kunai's, all sharp and shimmering in the sunrays coming throught he window. Kenshin gaped. "Oro? What on earth do you have such dangerous weaponary for, Miss Chii-chan?"

Heather's expression went blank as if he'd said the most unusual thing in the world. "I just think kunai's are cool." She shut her eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. A smirk formed on her lips and she began placing the kunai's in each crevice that seperated her fingers from one another. "Plus..." Heather suddenly took on a furious battle stance, one leg behind, one forward, eyes narrowed, her arms lowered but her kunai's pointed directly at Kenshin. "They're a pretty sweet weapon for self defense!"

Kenshin nearly flipped backwards at this, eyes bugging from his head and the corner of his mouth twitching and trembling. "Miss...Miss C-C-Chii-chan, please, do this one a favor and point those dangerous weapons away from me!" Heather giggled and stood normally again, taking the weapons out of her finger crevices and zipping them back into her bag. "Onii-chan...I think we're gonna get along great!"

A broad shouldered man with long hair gathered up in a ponytail and deep blue eyes pressed against the wall of the large gymnasium, observing the students who wore thigh length navy blue basketball shorts with matching sky blue sleeveless nyon shirts running laps around the gym. He dipped his head low, wondering why he had accepted to transfer to being the college basketball team couch rather than keeping his old job as a basketball couch at the Hiten Mitserugi High school. _This team is absolutely pathetic, _he thought ruefully to himself as he stared at them in disappointment. _Not once have they one a single game. Eh. I'll get this team whipped into shape if it's the last thing I do..._

Suddenly, his eye caught the gym door pushing open with a loud squeak and saw a short young man step in. He cocked his head in intrest. The boy scanned the room with his violet eyes, holding a piece of paper in hand. The couch noticed a strange cross shaped scar on the boy's left cheek. _Hmm..._ He had long red hair pulled back in a ponytail and he was wearing a short sleeved black shirt with long blue jeans. When the violet eyes landed on the couch, the boy's frown turned to a smile and he ran across the gymnasium with great speed until he reached the couch. Once there, he gazed up at the tall muscular man with huge violet eyes and smiled innocently. "Um...excuse me, sir? Would you happen to know where I can find the animation class? It's written on my schedule but I can't seem to find which floor it's on."

The man's eyes turned to slits of intrest and he smirked at the short boy. "To tell you the truth, I can't say I know where that animation thing is-" The red head looked disappointed. "However..." He stared up expectantly at the coach. "...animation class seems a little out of your league, kid. How would you like to play college basketball instead? We could really use a kid like you, what with your short stature and all. Your able to move faster than others I've seen."

The young student's eye twitched. "Um...excuse me...but if it's all the same with you, I'd prefer you call me Kenshin. And another thing-" Kenshin shut his eyes and smiled. " - I don't really think I'd be cut out for basketball."

A familiar lanky guy with spiked brown hair came trudging toward them. Kenshin blinked twice before he gripped realization of who it was. "Say Hiko-sensei, I finished those fifty lay-ups you wanted me to do..." His eyes fell upon Kenshin and he grinned. "Well if it ain't Mr. Jealous-type? What are you doin' here, Kenshin?"

_Mr..._Jealous-type_? He's really trying to push my buttons, isn't he? _Kenshin forced a smile and rubbed the back of his head. "Heheh...well, actually Sano, this one was..."

"...he was just about to give me his answer on my offer," Hiko finished before Kenshin did. Kenshin's violet eyes narrowed at Hiko. _That's not what I was going to say at all! You jerk... _Sano arched a brow. "Offer, huh? What's the offer, Kenshin?"

"Um...well, Hiko-sensei was asking me to join your basketball team, but I've already declined the offer."

Sano bonked Kenshin upside the head. He instantly switched to swirly eyed mode and toppled to the floor. "Oro!" "Oh come on, baka! You should definately join the team. You'd be amazing at this kind of thing!"

Kenshin got to his feet and rubbed his hand across the pink lump on his head. "Oro...you really think so, Sano?'

He hit him again.

"Oro!"

"_Think_ so? I _know _so! You should join the team. Come on, whatdya say?"

Kenshin sighed, bowing his head low, sorting through his small list of options. _It doesn't look as though I'd have a choice. Besides, it's not as though I'll find my animation class anytime soon. I'm probably already late as we speak... _"...I might as well...I guess..." he muttered lowly, pouting a bit.

"Alright!"

"Then it's settled." Hiko-sensei looked upon Kenshin with what seemed to him like pride...and something else that seemed bad. "Starting this afternoon, your on the team, baka-deshi."

_This should prove to be rather intresting, _thought Kenshin mornfully. _Hopefully I'm prepared for whatever this guy has in store for me..._

_**And so brings us to the conclusion of chapter 5 :)**_

_**I told you I would be updating faster than last time ^^ I just hope you enjoyed this chapter alittle better than the last.**_

_**It seemed to me I kind of rushed into getting chapter four done, so I surely hope it doesnt seem like the same thing for this chapter.**_

_**Well, thank you for your great reviews and thanks for reading! :D**_

_**I shall see you soon!**_

_**Special thanks to XAshKittyX, SRAS9, and AVAgrl for the reviews!**_

_**-MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor**_


	6. Basketball Practice

_**The Unseen**_

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the following quote(and also I dont own any songs that may appear in this fanfic) Both belong to their rightful owners.

**indielokimin: **Hello my friend :D Thank you much for reading it ^^ Wow, you read all the chapters today? Oo That mustve taken you quite some time ^^; But nevertheless, Im happy you enjoyed it and I thank you for the critism :) I'll definately be sure to check for spelling mistakes next time ^^'' Thank you again! :D

**XAshKittyX: **Thank you very much ^_^ Im happy you enjoyed this chapter, for it had me laughing quite abit too x3 I'll update as soon as I can! Thank you for reading my friend :D Your reviews mean alot to this one, that they do ^^

Now, on with the Chapter! :)

Chapter 6

Basketball Practice

**Gymnasium - 2:00 P.M. Monday **

Kenshin Himura felt like a complete idiot for being told what to do and actually going through with it. Usually, he'd never do something as silly as athletic sports (though he had to be honest with himself that he had run track for the first year of Middle School and thought it was quite enjoyable). Kenshin had no clue as to why he was being such an easy push-over for anyone at this college. He shook his head and reluctantly slipped on the sky blue sleeveless nyon shirt that was required for him to wear as a way of representing the team he supported. Printed in white below the back of the neck collar was his last name 'Himura' with his number beneath his last name reading, '1'. _Though I feel like a zero in my opinion..._

"Hey, baka deshi! You almost done powdering your nose in there? If it's all the same with you, my team would like to start the game already." Couch Hiko's sarcastic remark made Kenshin's eye slightly twitch with irritance. _Why does he only seem to do this kind of thing to only me? _wondered Kenshin as he grouchily pushed his way out of the locker room and into the wide, polished-floored gymmnasium. To Kenshin's _delight, _Hiko-sensei was standing over a crowd of somewhat tall - somewhat short - basketball players. When Hiko's brown eyes flickered over to him, Kenshin could've sworn he saw a glint of mockery in them. He grimaced.

As quickly as Hiko's eyes had fallen upon Kenshin, they had moved away and passed over the faces of the basketball team, a mask of seriousness shadowing over the couch's face. "Today, I expect to see all of you working your asses off during our practice session. Our next game is against the Makoto University Basketball team and I won't stand losing to them for the fifth time this year. Understand?" The students grunted, acknowledging their couch's words with a brief nod of their heads. Couch Hiko's eyes turned to slits. "Very well then..." He raised his clipboard to his eye level and announced, "Alright, I'll be seperating you princesses' into four different groups: one for practicing lay-ups, another for rebound practice, then another for defense and offense, and finally the last group will perform passing drills - running from one end of the gym to the next while passing the ball against your chest to the person beside you. Now here are the groups, so you better listen and listen good. Group one for lay-ups will consist of Myojin Yahiko, Shinimori Aoshi, Sagara Sanosuke, Seta Soujiro and Himura Kenshin..."

Hiko went on as Kenshin followed the four to the basketball hoop which stood to the East side of the gymnasium. Its neon orange rim glossily shined against the lights hanging high overhead. By the time Kenshin made it to his destination, the four were already lined up and starting their lay-ups. He quickly rushed to the line and nearly toppled over a man as tall as Sano. The man grunted, turning his head, ice blue eyes glaring with annoyance at Kenshin. Kenshin shrank back. "Er...um...sorry..." He snorted a low, 'hmph' and faced away from Kenshin again. The red head sighed in relief. _That was much too close of a call. _

Something nudged him from behind and almost all the wind was knocked from the students' lungs. "Oro?"

"Nice to see you here, Kenshin," said a voice, Sanosuke's to be more exact. Kenshin regained his breath and cocked his head to look up at Sano. "Erm...thanks, I guess." Question lit in Sano's eyes and he dribbled his basketball in hand. "Somethin' up?" he asked. "You don't look like your having a good time." Kenshin's head drooped. "That's exactly the problem!" retorted Kenshin, his voice cracked in distress. "This one isn't having fun _what so ever!_ All I'd like to do now is go home."

"Don't be like that, man." Sano lied a comforting hand on the short red head's slender shoulder. "Maybe things will lighten up by the end of practice?" Kenshin glanced at him. "You really think so?" he said. "Sure do," Sano replied. "I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Hey Himura, catch!"

"Oro?"

Kenshin whipped around just in time to have his face come in contact with harsh rubber. "Oroooo!" He flipped backwards with swirling eyes and a red printed cheek. Sano facepalmed himself. "Damn," he muttered. "Kenshin...you _really _gotta pay more attention."

It was now Kenshin's turn to try a lay-up. He prepared himself for it, feeling numb from his head to his toes, keeping his violet eyes fixed firmly on his goal: the basketball hoop. Beads of sweat rolled from his forehead. Kenshin's legs trembled as he readied to dribble and jump.

"Come on, some of us are waiting for our turns you know." Kenshin jumped and gave a sideways glance at the man with the icy blue eyes and black hair. He nodded fast. "Uh...y-yes! O-of course...heheh..."

Kenshin turned away with a grimace expression. _I'm going to have to hurry and quit stalling. He looks like the type who'd kill me right on the spot if I were to take a minute longer to just shoot the darn thing._

"Aoshi, come now." A younger voice coaxed. "Himura is only a beginner, afterall. Go easy on him." Kenshin's nerves were calmed slightly.

Kenshin slowed his breathing rate, his palms growing sweaty, but his eyes narrowed in determination. Without hesitation, he ran forward, dropping the ball to the ground and dribbling it till he was halfway to the hoop. He swept the basketball in one hand and jumped up with one leg while his arm rose higher until the ball fell into the net with great success. Kenshin landed with perfect grace back onto two feet. He panted, taking a glance at his teammates to see their reactions.

Sano had his hands cupped around his mouth, yelling, "Go, Kenshin! You got the lay-up on your first try!"

Soujiro, a young male with short brown hair and brown eyes, clapped, smiling cheerfully as he said, "Excellent job, Mr. Himura." Aoshi stayed silent. The boy who stood next to Sano, to whom Kenshin guessed was Yahiko, leaned toward the man and whispered something to him. Sano replied back and the boy nodded, shouting in Kenshin's direction. "Whoo! Great job, Kenshin!"

He beamed, proud of his accomplishment. Then his happiness was dashed away by Couch Hiko, who made his way toward Kenshin with a glint in his eye. "I gotta admit, kid," said Hiko as he approached Kenshin. "You did a pretty good job for your first try. However, doing just a single lay-up is nothing to get too excited about. You still have ninety-nine more to go."

Kenshin's jaw hit the floor. _Ninety-nine? Is this guy _trying _to kill me?_ He gulped.

With that said, Hiko whipped around and took his place back against the wall. Kenshin remained in a state of shock, not believing his ears. When a basketball smacked him in the face for the second time that day, Kenshin shook himself and kicked into gear, quickly zooming back into line.

**Aftermath- 5:00 P.M.**

At last, Kenshin made his final lay-up and collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Stars swirled around his head and he groaned. His body ached all over. Bruises covered his face from the many times he had been slugged with a basketball. The sound of footsteps made Kenshin open an eye slightly. A figure masked by shadows towered over him, and Kenshin guessed with a start that it was Couch Hiko. Kenshin rose up fast, his head bonking into the couch's.

"Ow!"

"Oro!'

Now crouched over in pain, Kenshin winced. He rubbed his head, hearing Hiko muttering thousands of cuss words under his breath. _Some way to start out the first day of practice, _he thought sarcastically to himself. When he recovered from the numbing pain, Kenshin peeked over at the couch who remained hunched over, gripping his head. Cautiously, he whispered, "H-Hiko sensei, are you okay?"

He recieved no reply. Kenshin tried again. "Hiko sensei?" Suddenly, several poundings met with Kenshin's head and the dazed student toppled backwards in swirly eyed mode.

Hiko snorted and got up. "I'm fine, no thanks to you," he grumbled. Kenshin hopped to his feet and watched Hiko brushing off his dark gray jacket. He caught Kenshin staring at him and glared. Kenshin shrank back, whistling a tune and looking elsewhere.

"Anyway, practice is over. You can go now."

Kenshin gave his couch a blank stare. Hiko saw this and ran a hand through his hair. "Ugh, honestly, do you need me to say it slower?" He shook his head. "Um...no Hiko sensei," replied Kenshin. "I was just wondering...where is everyone else?"

A chuckle came from Hiko. Kenshin arched a brow. "Everyone left hours ago," Hiko told Kenshin, becoming amused as he saw the embarrassment cloaked on the young student's face. "Oh..." Kenshin bowed his head, feeling his cheeks turning red. _Great. This is perfect. _"Hey, if your still alive, I'd like to let you know something, kid."

Kenshin blinked and stared at Hiko with curious eyes. "Yes?"

Hiko smirked. "I hate to admit it, but you've done a pretty good job for a beginner." Kenshin gaped. "You really think so?" he asked, wide eyed. Hiko nodded. Kenshin allowed for himself to smile, relief washing over him like water. However, the moment Hiko saw him smiling, he added sharply, "But don't expect to be praised every time you practice baka deshi. If I continually did so every time you did something right, you'd get all soft and lose every game. So, with that being said-" The couch whipped around, starting to leave. "Don't expect any more praise from me."

The large gym doors shut on Hiko's way out and Kenshin stared at the smile returned to his lips and he moved out of the gymnasium. _Maybe playing basketball won't be too bad afterall, _thought Kenshin, shutting the doors behind him and stepping up the staircase.

"My gosh, Onii-chan! You must be exhausted!"

Kenshin gave Heather a reassuring smile. "I'm a little tired from practice, but it's not something a shower and some rest can't fix." He opened the bedroom door and went in. "Still...I've never seen you look so worn out before," she continued, leaning over him as he dug through his dresser drawer. _That's only for the fact she hasn't known me long enough to see how worn out I can _really _get... _Kenshin grabbed some black boxers, a tank top, and underwear. "Miss Chii-chan, you mustn't worry. Practice wasn't bad at all, that it wasn't. I'm fine."

He went out of the room and into the bathroom to prepare a well deserved shower. Heather came in shortly after just as he place his clothes upon the back of the toilet seat and was adjusting the water temperature.

"Do you need anything? Anything at all?" Kenshin glanced at her over his shoulder. "No, I'll be alright. But thank you for asking, anyway." Heather narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure?" The tone of her voice let Kenshin know she wasn't going to take no for an answer. An idea sparked in his mind and he got up and turned to her with enthusiastic violet eyes. "You know what? There is something you could get me."

Heather jumped, eyes huge ovals, mouth agate. "What?"

"Erm...well...after I shower, I usually make some coffee up, just to calm my nerves and to help me relax-"

"Cool! I'll get on it right away. There's a Starbucks right across the campus." She hurriedly scrambed out of the bathroom. Just when Kenshin could finally breathe a sigh, his breath was caught in his throat as the hyper girl bounced back in and shouted, "Do you add anything to your coffee, like cream or something?"

Kenshin coughed, clearing his throat and sweatdropped. "Um...just cream is fine." Then his eyes softened. "But Miss Chii-chan? You don't have to neccesarily get me some coffee. You can just make some here." Heather stamped her foot in objection. "But it's faster if I get it from Starbucks," she remarked.

Kenshin stared at her for a heartbeat longer before digging into his jean pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. Once he had the piece of paper in hand, he handed it to the girl. "In that case, here." He shut his eyes and smiled brightly. "If you insist on getting it from Starbucks, the least I could do is give you the money for it rather than you spending your own money. And while your at it, you can use the extra money that's left over and buy something for yourself. How does that sound, hmm?"

Heather looked completely astounded by his kindness, glancing at the money he held and back at him. Uncertainty was in her blue eyes, so Kenshin gently grabbed her small hand and place the bill in her palm. "Take it," he told her softly. "You don't need to pay me back for it. Just take it as a token of my kindness."

She gripped the money in her hand, still reluctant to take it. Kenshin pat her on the shoulder to assure her and added, "It's alright. I'm giving it to you on my own free will."

That seemed to convince the girl enough to be on her way. He watched her leave, glad that he would have some peace and quite to himself with no interruptions.

The water was steaming hot as the red head hopped in and slid the shower curtain shut. "I need to get that stinky sweat off my body," he murmured to himself. "It's pratically sticking to my skin like an extra layer of clothing." He soaked his head in the downpouring water and started to wash his body off with a washcloth, singing a song as he was scrubbing himself of the gross sweat.

"Just leave with me now, say the word and will go. I'll be your teacher I'll show you the ropes. You'll see a side of love you've never known, I can see it goin down, goin down..."

Kenshin lathered some green apple scented shampoo in his darkened damp hair, still singing even though he had no talent at it whatsoever. At the same time, he was thinking of the Kamiya girl. He felt like it had been forever since Kaoru and him had seen one another. He couldn't help wonder how she was doing.

He turned the shower head off and decided to take a bath now that he felt clean enough. _Besides, it'll help me think easier. _Kenshin slipped into the bathwater, feeling its' hot sting after sinking in. His skin was turning a pinkish-red due to the heat intensity, but it didn't bother him in the least. If anything, he liked to make his showers and baths as hot as he could get it. It helped to sort his thoughts into place and think things over.

Kenshin sat in the water, sunk in deep enough to where his shoulders now hung below the surface. He sighed heavily and peered at the ceiling. _I have to admit, I think I'm quite enjoying the prospect of playing basketball. Though the couch is getting on every last fiber of my nerves. _He scowled. _It doesn't seem as though he refers to the other students as his 'stupid apprentice.' He seems to be picking on me more than the others. The jerk..._

He was nose deep into the water, his face turning crimson. _If there's anyone who has such strength to deal with that block-head, then they must be heaven sent. _He groaned. _Oh, why does Hiko sensei only pick on me?_

At the same time the thought passed over his mind, the bathroom door swung open and in came the happy looking Heather, holding a starofoam cup in one hand and a plastic bag labeled 'Starbucks' in the other. Kenshin's eyes bugged with surprise.

"Onii-chan, I got you a coffee and I even bought some chocolate chip cookies for us to share!" chirped Heather, not seeing that she was interfering with Kenshin's..._alone _time.

"O...ro...?"

"Huh? Onii-chan, why are you saying 'oro' for?" Heather opened her eyes and instantly Kenshin's face went completely scarlet. Her eyes enlarged. "Um...um...I am _so _sorry!" She was hastily talking away, waving her arms frantically in front of herself, as Kenshin wrapped the shower curtain around his body to hide her view of everything. "I didn't know you were taking a bath, I could've sworn you were done taking a shower so that's why I walked in and-"

"Miss Chii-chan, I hate to interrupt your explanation..." His face turned redder as he went on. "But can you please _get out_!" Heather stiffened when his voice cracked to a high squeal but nonetheless she nodded and ran out so fast even a cheetah would look slow-mo in comparison. Kenshin released the shower curtain and dropped back into the water, feeling utterly embarrassed by what just happened. "I swear," he ran his fingers through his hair. "This one needs to find some sort of lock to put on that door, that I do." He ducked so low in the water that even his head was unseeable. But whether he was underwater or above, the steaming waters could not hide his blushing face.

End of Chapter 6 :)

Well, this one hopes you found this chapter both intresting and meerly amusing too. I appreaciate your critism and reviews very much, and I'll try and read them all and answer any questions you may have. A very special thanks goes to my reviewers so far: SRAS9, XAshKittyX, AVAgrl and indielokimin :) And special thanks to you, the reader :D

It warms my heart to see peoples opinions on my fanfic, so please, don't be shy to review. It only takes a moment of your time ^^

Thanks or reading!

~ MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor


	7. Haunting Memories

_**The Unseen**_

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the following quote(and also I dont own any songs that may appear in this fanfic) Both belong to their rightful owners.

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

_"All men whilst they are awake are in one common world: _~*~_ but each of them, when he is asleep, is in a world of his own."_ ~*~

**-Plutarch**

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

XXX

Hello everyone :D Thanks for the reviews again! I greatly appreciate it :)

**indielokimin: **i laugh alittle myself when i imagine him playing basketball xD It was the only sport I knew most about. I was originally going to make him run track, but I didnt know barely anything about track Oo So I went with the next best thing: basketball ^^ Oh my, I just now noticed I misspelled that lol thank you for letting me know :) Yes, indeed the dorms are co-ed :) Im happy you asked ^_^

On with the story!

XXX

Chapter 7

Haunting Memories

XXX

He gave a great groan before falling backwards onto the matress, violet eyes dull with exhaustion. He placed his hands over his face. Today had been an awkward, tiring day. Kenshin removed his hands to stare up at the lavender ceiling. He was just glad that the day was almost through; the sun was beginning to set outside, casting shadows over his side of the bedroom through the window. And though he enjoyed the light of day rather than the black of night, Kenshin felt somewhat glad that it was going to be nightfall in a few more hours. After the days inccident with Heather in the bathroom...

He shook himself begrudgidly.

Already, he was feeling the heat rushing into his face at the slightest thought of it that trickled into his mind. It had been so humiliating, Kenshin had kept his distance from his roomate for the remainder of the evening. He wasn't prepared to face her just yet at the fear of what she would say -or worse- what she'd _think. _

Absentmindedly, Kenshin glanced at the digital clock sitting on the midnight blue nightstand by his bedside. The neon numbers luminated the time: **7:59 P.M. **_Only a minute longer, _he thought, sitting upright and staring intently at the clock. The seconds ticked by and the sun continually moved lower on the horizon. Finally, the clock's time changed and glowed a satisfying time to Kenshin's eyes. It was officially eight o'clock at night, and now the sun had fully vanished, replaced by a pale faced moon and a darkening sky.

Kenshin sighed with relief. He sank back into the comfortable bed and started to indulge himself in some soothing memories. Within moments, the tired red head had fallen asleep.

_The fall of pure white winter snow glittered around upon the ground of the park. All around, the trees were coldly bare and the sky was charcoal gray. A soft silhottete touched the snow as a couple strolled past. They held eachother, hand in hand, smiling and talking almost in whispers. _

_"It's beautiful today, isn't it?" asked the man staring at his girlfriend for a response. The woman simply swept her eyes over the sky and back to the ground, shrugging. "I guess so," was her quiet reply. His eyes searched her face for an answer; sadly, none showed through those emotionless scarlet eyes, and her expression was solemn and cold. _

_An idea sparked into his mind. "Tomoe?" _

_Tomoe turned to him. "What?" _

_Smiling, he dragged her off of the park's path and into the freezing snow. She yelped with surprise and free'd her hand from his grip. "Kenshin, where on earth are you taking me?" She stood, glaring at him indignantly. _

_Kenshin meerly moved toward her, grabbing her hand and saying, "I'm taking you to have some fun." He held her hands firmly in his own and went on. "I figured we'd go see the frozen lake where the ducks always wad in during the summer times. It is an absolutely stunning sight." _

_Then, Tomoe's glare softened and she smiled. "Alright then," she agreed, allowing for him to hold her hand. "Lead the way."_

_Together, Kenshin showed Tomoe the quickest way to the lake, helping her cross over long jumps and over frozen ground. At last, the clearing below came into view and the reflective icey surface of the lake shined brilliantly though no sun shone. Kenshin eased Tomoe to his side and they both gazed down at the breathtaking sight in silence. _

_She pressed close to his chest. The warmth of her body against his made Kenshin feel tingly all over. He wanted this moment to last forever. He longed to kiss her right there to complete the dazzling scenary. Just when Kenshin faced Tomoe and leaned toward her lips, her excited murmur stopped him from kissing her. "Let's go down there."_

_Kenshin stared at her blankly. "Excuse me?" _

_"Come on, Kenshin. It'll be even better to look at it from below, don't you think?"_

_He hesitated. 'Should I really let her drag me into one of her schemes again?' he asked himself. Kenshin thought of all the times Tomoe had talked him into doing many things he would never be caught doing. Such things as drinking achohol when they were still in high school, making him drive to the malls to go shopping for clothes, forcing him to try on half of the clothes she had picked out, and the list could go on forever. He wasn't sure half the things she made him do were even legal. _

_Kenshin, nevertheless, was persuaded by the provocative spark in her eye. Cursing himself inwardly, Kenshin smiled back at her and replied, "Alright then. What will it hurt?"_

_'But it hurt the both of us in the end,' thought Kenshin, gripping his blanket in his clenched hands. 'It scarred me mentally, and it killed her physically. It was all my fault. I was the one to blame for her death...' _

Suddenly, Kenshin started to awaken, dreaded by his dreams far too much to continue sleeping. When he awoke, darkness cloaked the bedroom not counting the open door shredding light through its' crack. Drowsily, he peeked over at the clock which read - to his disappointment- **9:24 P.M. **

Kenshin grimaced and laid back in bed. The dream replayed in his mind, torchering every fiber of his being. _I can't believe the nightmares are returning again... Why now? After so long, I thought they would be gone from my mind. Why are they returning so suddenly? _

A vibration buzzed noisily from the nightstand. Kenshin sprawled over, recovered his gray cellphone and flipped it open with his thumb. He pressed it to his ear and said, "Hello?"

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty!"

Kenshin cocked his head. "Oro? Sano, is that you?"

"Who else did ya think?"

_Yes, it's definately Sano. _"Why are you calling so late in the night?" Kenshin grunted as he sat up in a sitting position against the head of his bed. "Do you not realize the time?"

"Duh! Of course I know what the time is, baka. It ain't _that _late anyway..." The last part of Sanosuke's sentence was lowly uttered, but Kenshin still heard every word and frowned. "Well, then, would you mind telling this one why you've called?" _Before I beat you mercilessly with my sakabatou for disturbing me...?_

"I was wonderin' if you wanted to hang out tonight?"

"Oro?" Kenshin blinked twice.

"Yeah, you know, have some guy time away from the girls for the night. Whatdya say?"

"Well Sano, I'm not sure..." Kenshin trailed off.

"Geez man, do you have to act like such a 'Mr. Goody-two-shoes' all the time?" remarked Sanosuke with a hint of mockery.

Kenshin's eyes slitted; they flashed amber. _Goody-two-shoes...? I'll show him..._

"Alright then, Sano." Kenshin staightened up in bed. "I'll meet you tonight afterall. Let me know the time you want to meet up and we'll go have some _guy time _as you say."

"How about now at my dorm?"

"Sounds like a plan."

" 'Kay then. See ya in a few."

"Goodbye."

Kenshin shut his cellphone with a single flick of the index finger. Accending from the bed, he strode over to the dresser and dug out a plain magenta shirt with faded gray jeans, slipping them on cleanly in a heartbeat. Kenshin left the bedroom and made his way to the door.

"Where are you heading off to?" The sudden voice behind caused the man to fall backwards with an exclaimation of "ORO!" Kenshin looked upwards from his position on the floor to see Heather erupted in laughter. His nerves settled in heartbeats and he got up. "I love when you do that, Onii-chan!" she howled, wiping the escaping tears from her eyes. "Whoo." Her laughter was dying away as she repeated her question.

Kenshin gulped nervously.

Normally he would feel alright with letting Heather in on where he'd go. Nonethless, he didn't find this to be one of those occasions tonight. He had two choices: either lie or be honest. When the choices were narrowed down, Kenshin felt entirly ashamed at the outcome. "I'm going to see Miss Kamiya, that I am," he replied, appearing innocent and not allowing for his eyes to betray any sense of dishonesty.

A twinkle shined in Heather's blue eyes, and for some reason, it made Kenshin feel akward and slightly nervous. "Oooh! Your seeing Kaoru?" He nodded slowly. She grinned. "Let her know I said hi. Wow, how long has it been since you two last visited eachother?"

Kenshin was caught off guard by the question. How long had it been? A couple days? Weeks perhaps? He had no clue. That made his heart sink in guilt. _Have I been diliberately avoiding her? The nightmares must be taking their toll on me more than I thought. _He turned on his heels, opening the door with his head hung low, his eyes hidden by his overhanging bangs. "It's been quite a while I suppose," said Kenshin. With that, he shut the door behind himself.

XXX

"Help yourself to a beer man." Sanosuke tossed a cold can Kenshin's way and the red head caught it with expertise. He sat it down on the coffee table and watched Sanosuke emerge from the kitchen and sit down on the sofa. Once everything was situated amongst themselves, Kenshin started the confersation. "So I've noticed your quite the talented one at basketball. How long have you been playing for?"

"Man, it's been a while I can tell you that," replied Sanosuke. He leaned back. "I've played basketball since eighth grade in middle school. My dad always told me how extrodinarily talented I was at the sport and encouraged me to keep playing." He breathed a sigh, seeming to be reminincing a bit about some past memories left unspoken. "He was there when I needed him - my dad, I mean. Even when he was busy with his job as a track coach, he always seemed to somehow find the time to spend with me. I just wish..." He trailed off, letting the sentence hang loosely as a clouded look befell his face. Kenshin caught the man's drift even without Sanosuke stating it aloud.

_He must be wishing his father was here. His father must've passed on a while ago. _He felt his throat constrict. Kenshin knew what it felt like to lose someone close. It was a gut-wrenching feeling. A feeling of which Kenshin never liked to think too often about. But seeing the sad expression on his friend's face made him remember Tomoe. Death had taken her so quickly; she was so young back then. _Why does death make the living suffer? _Kenshin wondered. If death was truly this horrible fate everyone would meet one day, why did it take such a rough toll on the deceased victim's loved ones? Could death truly be so cruel? He knew better than to ask himself that. Death was the bitter reality that took Tomoe from him without hesitation. Death was the number one cause of all his grief. Death played an active role in his life, now until the end.

Kenshin held back tears which threatened to arouse in his violet eyes. He turned away to avoid Sanosuke seeing his face. He murmured, "I'm sorry to hear that, Sanosuke. Your father must have been a great man..." Sanosuke arched a brown brow. He was beginning to wonder what was changing Kenshin's mood so abruptly. He shrugged it off. _Maybe it's all this talk about my dad that's bringing him down? _He took a quick glance at the red head, seeing that the man's back was turned to him and his head was hung low. _No-that's not it. If that isn't the case, then what's up with Kenshin? _

"He was pretty great," Sanosuke agreed, looking away from Kenshin. He smirked. "But, you know my old man's still alive, right?" Kenshin threw his head back. His eyes were close to falling out if his head whereas his jaw looked like it'd hit the floor. "_WHAT? _YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOUR FATHER IS STILL _ALIVE?" _Sanosuke erupted into laughter at Kenshin's comical shock.

Kenshin blushed slightly.

"Well, yeah. Of course he's alive, baka! Whatdya think he was: _dead?_"

Kenshin glared. "Yes, that's exactly what this one thought." He folded his arms over his chest. "The way you were speaking of him gave me the notion he was deceased, indeed it did." Sanosuke was enjoying the look of embarrassment on his friend's face. He tried to suppress his laughter due to the fact it wouldn't help cease Kenshin's humiliation but he could hardly contain it any longer and was soon wrapping his arms around his stomach, laughing so hard it made it feel as though his sides would split. That only caused Kenshin's face to turn redder.

With his face as red as his own hair, Kenshin turned his back angrily to his friend. _Sano, I swear..sometimes this one can never understand you, that I most certainly cannot! _Sanosuke smiled and placed a hand reassuringly on Kenshin's shoulder. "Hey," he said cheerfully, in hopes of easing the tension between them. "Come on man, I didn't mean to laugh. It kinda just slipped out unexpectantly. I really didn't mean anything by it; honest."

It took long silent moments before Kenshin gathered the nerve to face Sanosuke again. He tried to appear as though he had accepted the apology, but nevertheless, deep in the recesses of his mind, he did not keep that forgiveness intact. He spoke with a calm sereneness in his tone, low and almost in a whisper: "Fine Sano. I believe your claim...and I forgive you."

Kenshin watched the look of relief wash over Sanosuke's face. His violet eyes lightened a teenie bit and he could no longer call his forced smile a fraud. The two friends laughed at themselves afterwards, the anticipated tension ebbing away within heartbeats and being replaced by a happy-filled atmosphere.

And as calmness swept through the dorm, Sanosuke started a new confersation this time. Kenshin payed close attention to what his friend was saying.

"I've been kinda curious about this since the day we met," said Sanosuke. "With a guy like you, your bound to have had at least one girlfriend in your life...so what I'm asking is," and he looked Kenshin in the eye, "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

It caught the red head completely off guard. His heart lurched in his chest immediatly. His mouth grew instantly dry. His violet eyes darkened, glossily shining in the dim lamp light of the main room. Kenshin shifted his eyes away from Sanosuke, afraid the man would see the weakness he was feeling and the secret he was concealing. "I had a girlfriend," he murmured quietly. His eyes were shrouded by his ginger bangs. "But she was the only one.."

Sanosuke was puzzled by his friends odd change of behavior. He scratched his head. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, did you two break up or something?"

Kenshin shook his head slowly.

Sanosuke grew silent. Now he was starting to get concerned. He watched with great intent the red head start to tremble and sway unnaturally left to right. Before Sanosuke could ask Kenshin if he was okay, Kenshin had thumped to the floor of the dorm, curling into a fetal position, his entire body shaking, his eyes tightened shut and wailing in agonizing pain.

Sanosuke lunged forward. "Kenshin!" he exclaimed, daring to touch the student on the arm. Kenshin wrenched his arm away from Sanosuke's grip, cold beads of sweat rolling down his face. "_Leave me alone!_"Kenshin cried out. Sanosuke stared down at his friend with fear. "Kenshin, you gotta snap out of it! _Kenshin!" _

His efforts only proved to be doing worse for the poor red head. While Sanosuke tried, to no avail, to calm him down, Kenshin had long left reality and was wandering in a supernatural world all his own... a world to which seemed to be no escape from the darkness that started consuming Kenshin from the inside since the day Tomoe died.

_XXX_

_Sorry for taking so long to update my friends! A thousand apologies for the late update on the chapter! School got in the way of things as did real life, so I wasnt able to update for a while ^^'' I surely hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless :) Thanks for reading! Dont forget to review :) Until next chapter, farewell!_

_Special thanks goes to my wonderful readers and reviewers :) You guys are the reason why I write and I thank you all for that deeply ^^_

_Until next chapter, farewell!_

_-MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor_


	8. Moving On

_**The Unseen**_

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the following quote(and also I dont own any songs that may appear in this fanfic) Both belong to their rightful owners.

Chapter 8

Moving On

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

_ "We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness." _

- _**David Weatherford**_

l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l

"Is he doing any better Dr. Gensai?"

The old man washed his hands in the sink, drying them fluently and turning to face a worried Sanosuke. Dr. Gensai was the college doctor. He dressed in an almost surgical-like outfit, wearing a teal green shirt with matching pants and a bandana with white shoes. Both his mustache and hair were gray with age, and he had soft wrinkles wavering around his eyes and the corners of his mouth.

Sanosuke knew Dr. Gensai was the college's most trusted, not to mention most expertised, doctor they had. If their was any man in the world who could cure a sickly student and or teacher of an illness, it was Dr. Gensai.

The doctor looked at Sanosuke with great sympathy but replied assuringly, "Mr. Himura shall be alright in a few days worth of time. He's endured some sort of shock to his system which caused him to go into all those convulsions." Dr. Gensai opened a nearby door and entered hastily but calmly.

Sanosuke caught the door before it shut and followed, questions still floating in his head, wanting to recieve an answer for every last one of them.

Dr. Gensai approached a bed where a young man lied out straight on the matress, the rhythmatic rise and fall of his chest a sign he was still alive. An HIV was hooked up to his finger and led up to a pouch filled with liquid. The old doctor felt for a pulse on the man's wrist while at the same time watching his watch carefully to get an exact pulse reading.

Sanosuke watched silently, all the while a feeling of discomfort and awkwardness creeping over him as he looked down upon the man who lied in a relaxing slumber. His ginger ponytail had been untied, the hairthing lying on a stand next to the bed beside a tray with water and food. Though his hair had been smoothly combed through, the long strands which were once held in the ponytail splayed across the face of the clean white pillow. His eyes were shut, his face pale, his expression solemn, lacking any sense of emotion to his inner thoughts.

This man Sanosuke stared at so intently, so quietly, very nervously, was Kenshin Himura.

Dr. Gensai released Kenshin's wrist and scribbled something down on a clipboard. Sanosuke shifted his feet, cleared his throat and finally spoke up.

"What happened to him?"

Dr. Gensai stopped in midwriting, his fingers flexing hesitantly, his eyes intently focused on the clipboard for long moments. He leveled down the clipboard and looked at Sanosuke. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes shone with uncertainty. "I cannot be sure for the time being..." His gaze shifted back to the dozing red head. "For now, all I can say is this: whatever it was, it certainly has taken it's toll on the poor young man-"

"_Onii-chan!"_

"Kenshin!"

"Yo, Kenshin!

The first to burst through the door was Heather, her eyes wildly searching the room until they fell upon Kenshin, widening. Kaoru quickly followed close behind, panting, and finally Yahiko emerged, glaring at Kaoru in irritance but his annoyance instantly vanishing when he looked to the bed and saw the unconcious red head.

The room was swathed in an eerie silence.

Kaoru laid a hand over her mouth, too shocked for words, yet too choked to speak. _Kenshin... what happened to you? _The peaceful expression that befell his face was enough to nearly bring tears to her eyes. "Man, he looks so pale," breathed Yahiko in awe. Kaoru moved her gaze to Sanosuke. He peered back at her, then tore his eyes away and toward Dr. Gensai.

Kaoru took a deep breath before going up to the doctor. A deep dread clouded over her as she passed the bed, not daring to glance over at what she knew lied on it. Dr. Gensai took a brief moment to finish his notes, then he glanced at Kaoru and smiled softly. "I suspect the three of you are here to see Mr. Himura, correct?"

Swallowing, she nodded.

Dr. Gensai dipped his head, swerving past Kaoru and toward the door left open ajar. He lied a wrinkled hand on the knob, twisting his head around, saying, "I've finished my examinations of Mr. Himura. You may visit with him now, but don't expect him to wake up for a few more days. I have done all I can. Now its up for nature to take its course."

The door shut behind Dr. Gensai as he left. Kaoru stood transfixed to her spot in the room, thoughtlessly keeping her eyes on the closed door. Heather moved to the side of the bed, peeking over the blankets to catch a glimpse of Kenshin. Her big blue manga-eyes start to quiver, glazing over with unshed tears. "It's almost like...he's dead," she murmured, bowing her head low. "But...he's not.." It was Sanosuke who came up behind her, lying his hand over her shoulder, gripping it hard but not hard enough to hurt her, in an effort to ease the tension.

"He's gonna be alright, Chii-chan. Dr. Gensai knows exactly what he's doin'. Kenshin will be awake and out of here in no time." Heather said nothing. She merely shrugged off Sanosuke's hand, folding her arms across the blanket and resting her head on her arms silently. Her eyes were fixed on Kenshin, and she remained silent.

Kaoru couldn't believe what was happening. It all seemed like a horrible nightmare she would wake up from at any moment. No matter how much she wanted to believe that possibility, she knew it to be all too real. She balled her hands into fists and forced her eyes shut to avoid looking at the unconcious body of Kenshin Himura. Too many thoughts were throbbing through her head at the moment. She wanted to run as far away as possible, get away from all the confusion, the suspense, the horror, the sadness. She wanted to get away from it all.

_Oh Kenshin... out of all people, why is this happening to you?_

XXX

_Kenshin flinched as something soft as feathers landed on his cheek. At first, he hesitated to open his eyes, wanting to take pleasure in the warm feeling that hung all around him. However, when he felt a new presence arise, Kenshin's violet eyes fluttered open. He squinted as a bright shafts of light hit his eyes. _

_Sitting up, Kenshin took a moment to take in where he was. He was surprised to find he was no longer in the dorm room. _

_No- instead, the room had been replaced with neverending lucious green valleys and a single cherry blossom farther off in the distance. Instead of a ceiling, there was pale blue sky, far as the eye could see, covered in soft, feathery white whisps of clouds. And instead of carpeted floor, there was warm lime green grass. _

_'Where am I?'_

_"Hello Kenshin."_

_'Huh?' Whirling around, his violet eyes stretched in astonishment. A familiar female figure stood still as stone, as if frozen, her brown eyes slitted. She had a small smile placed on her lips. Kenshin felt rigid. He'd never seen the woman smile before. _

_Her feet shifted across the valley floor as she gracefully made her way toward him. She touched the ground so lightly not even the grass was disturbed by her smooth motions. _

_She halted a little ways in front of him, her silky white dress fluttering by a passing breeze and her black hair waving like a flag. All was silent between the woman and Kenshin. It seemed like an eternity before Kenshin grabbed the strength to speak. As he spoke, the words came out in nervous stutters. "T-Tomoe... it's you..."_

_Tomoe closed her eyes and bent her head down slightly. The breeze ceased at an instant and her brown eyes turned back onto him. "I've been waiting for you, Kenshin," she whispered sweetly. She smiled gently and her eyes softened. "I thought you'd never come."_

_Kenshin could do nothing but stare at Tomoe. "What do you mean?" he asked. He took a hesitant step forward. Tomoe moved closer to him. Her arms looped through his and she embraced the man she loved everso much in a passionate hug. Kenshin's eyes widened with surprise. He just stood rigidly, shocked by the sudden warmth rushing through his veins like a river. Then, he succumed to her spell, his body relaxing, eyes shutting and arms wrapping around Tomoe to share the same affection he had been hiding for so long. Tomoe rested her chin in the nape of his neck, breathing in the soft scent of his ginger hair while Kenshin stroked hers with a hand. For the first time since she'd died, Kenshin felt a trickle of tears escape the ducks of his eyelids. It felt relieving to cry out his pain, especially when he knew no one could see the tears besides Tomoe. _

XXX

While Sanosuke and Yahiko left the room to go and find something to eat, Heather and Kaoru remained with the unconcious Kenshin without a word, both women sitting side by side as they watched the rhythmatic rise and fall of the red head's chest. Heather's big blue eyes, always so full of life and laughter, were now dull as the rainy days of spring, squinted and quivering, staring at Kenshin's solemn face.

Kaoru felt just the same.

Her knuckles dug into her long lavender skirt she wore with a matching cream sweater. She bit down hard on her lower lip to prevent herself from choking out in sobs. It was as if Kaoru were watching the death of a relative take place right before her very eyes. She resented the feeling, but it still stayed and grew all the more with each passing minute. If there were a way she could end the seemingly endless grief she was feeling, Kaoru knew she would no matter what. However, she knew her worry and sadness would not be put to ease until she was for sure Kenshin was okay.

At least that was what Kaoru was hoping...

A single tear streaming from the corner of Kenshin's eye drew Kaoru's attention immediatly. She gaped. _Is Keshin actually... crying? _

"Hey Kaoru, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" It was Heather's voice. Kaoru turned to her friend, unable to answer the question due to her own confusion. The only response she gave to the girl was a slight nod, then she glanced back at Kenshin.

XXX

_"Don't cry my love." _

_Kenshin's eyes, dampened by the flood of tears, blinked open wide. Tomoe smiled softly into his hair and stroked his back lovingly. "You understand that I am always with you..." She continued on more soothingly. "...even though I have long crossed to the Otherside..."_

_Kenshin refused to listen anymore. He brought her head closer to his face, the tears now a neverending river filled with sorrow and guilt. "...I...understand Tomoe..." he managed to choke out. His grip grew tighter on Tomoe. "But...I haven't been willing to let you go. You were my whole life...my whole world...all our happiness and everything we worked for in our relationship slipped through my fingers so easily. Don't you see, Tomoe? I..." Kenshin choked back an upcoming sob. "...I...I can never love someone...as much as I've ever loved you. I love you Tomoe." _

_Tomoe was caught off guard by Kenshin's words. However, she slowly began to understand and Tomoe smiled sympathetically as she pushed gently off him so she could look Kenshin in the face._

_The red head's face was moist from streaming tears and his eyes were glossy. But somehow he still found a glimmer of his signature smile spread upon his lips. Tomoe smiled everso softly in return. She was beginning to become so transclucent that Kenshin could see the valley straight through her. _

_He shifted his violet eyes from her gaze, knowing what was to come would leave a gaping wound in his heart far deeper then the scar he bore on his cheek. Tomoe spoke almost in a whisper, but Kenshin heard and grasped onto each and every word. "I'd never ask of you any less, my lover. However...it is what you, yourself, do not see that truly matters now. Look at me."_

_Reluctantly, Kenshin slowly rose his gaze up. _

_Tomoe rose her hand from her side, reaching out and touching his own hand with the tips of her fading fingers. Suddenly, Kenshin felt a rush of relief and overflowing love dissolve into his soul. He couldn't help the tears that came out now, for they were no longer tears of sorrow; tears of guilt. They were tears of humble relief, of forever remaining joy and love. Tomoe let her hand fall back to her side. She closed her eyes and smiled. _

_"From now until the day you pass on, it doesn't matter who you love. But keep in mind that if you keep holding onto old flames, then newer flames that flicker into your life eventually die out. You needn't worry about me anymore. I'm in a better place now and I'll wait for you forever..." A trail of cherry blossom petals flew briskly in the wind. As if the petals were there to whisk Tomoe away, the beautiful woman vanished. Her last words carried on the petals as they brushed past Kenshin's ears. _

_"...I love you with all my heart Kenshin. There's someone else waiting for you now...live a happy life and love freely as cherry blossom petals in a breeze...Farewell, my love..."_

_Kenshin threw his his head back and let the wind whip his ponytail. _

_'Farewell...Tomoe...', he thought silently. _

_With a lightened heart, Kenshin took one final glimpse of the valley's around him, bidding them an unsaid farewell and shut his eyes so he could awaken...back into reality once more. _

_l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l_

_And so brings us to the conclusion of Chapter 8 :)_

_ Thank you for reading! Special thanks goes out to all my reviewers! :D_

_Be sure to review ^-^ It only takes but a moment of your time_

_I surely hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time, sayonara! _

_~MrFoshizzleProTheWanderor_

_l ~*~*~~*~* ~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~ l_


End file.
